Ford Achieves Groundbreaking 2 Million Hours Of Hands-Free Driving Across North America

Ford Motor Co F CEO Jim Farley said on Wednesday that its customers, together with those of its luxury automotive brand Lincoln, have now driven hands-free for 2 million hours across the U.S. and Canada.

What Happened: “We just hit a #BlueCruise milestone: 2 million hours,” Farley wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Awesome we're helping make commutes & road trips more enjoyable and less stressful!,” he added.

BlueCruise permits users to remove their hands from the steering wheel in certain divided, pre-mapped motorways called Blue Zones. It is available on select trims of the Mustang Mach-E SUV, the F-150 truck, the F-150 Lightning truck, and the Expedition SUV.

On BlueZones, BlueCruise will maintain the car in the lane while sustaining cruising speed. As a safety measure, an infrared camera would track the driver’s gaze to ensure that they are watching the road.

Why It Matters: In mid-August, Ford said that it is looking to add BlueCruise hardware as a standard on 500,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles in 2024. Ford then had 225,000 vehicles on the road globally equipped with hands-free driving technology. 2024 model year F-150 Lightning, Ford F-150, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Lincoln Nautilus, and select trims of Lincoln Corsair will now be equipped with BlueCruise from the factory.

With the addition of the hardware as a standard, customers can choose to activate it at a different point than purchase. They can also experience it with the 90-day complimentary trial starting from purchase if they choose not to activate it.

Photo via Shutterstock

This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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