Ford BlueCruise Adds Hands-Free Lane Changing, Other Features

Ford BlueCruise is adding hands-free lane changing to the Mustang Mach-E and starting this fall, according to a press release shared on Thursday.

In addition to Lane Change Assist, the software’s 1.2 update is adding Predictive Speed Assist to account for upcoming curves and slowdowns, and In-Lane Repositioning for managing larger vehicles in surrounding lanes.

The software update will apply to 75,000 Ford and Lincoln owners enrolled in BlueCruise or Lincoln ActiveGlide. The release also says it has accumulated over 16 million hands-free driving miles through the end of August.

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“We are investing in our ADAS team to constantly improve BlueCruise and ActiveGlide for our customers,” said Doug Field, Chief EV & Digital Systems Officer, Ford Model e.

“The latest improvements allow customers to command lane changes using just a turn signal, and make hands-free driving feel more human-like by smoothly slowing down for turns, and giving more room to large vehicles in neighboring lanes. These improvements are just the beginning of a constant journey toward improving safety and, in the future, giving customers valuable time back.”

Ford unveiled BlueCruise about a year ago, and it has since been praised by Consumer Reports.

In July, Ford also sought approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for self-driving cars without steering wheels.