The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced an upgrade of its investigation into 129,222 Ford Motor vehicles due to collisions involving the company's hands-free driving technology, USA Today reports. This move follows two fatal incidents last April involving Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles equipped with the BlueCruise system.

The NHTSA's decision to elevate the probe to an engineering analysis stage encompasses vehicles from the 2021 to 2024 model years. This step is crucial as it precedes any potential recall mandates from the agency.

The BlueCruise technology utilizes a camera-based driver monitoring system that assesses driver attentiveness. It is operational across 97% of U.S. and Canadian highways lacking intersections or traffic signals, having been introduced in 2021.

Additionally, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting separate investigations into the two crashes, which involve a February 24 collision with a Honda CR-V in Texas and a March 3 incident in Philadelphia. Reports indicate that both fatal accidents occurred while the Mustang Mach-E was exceeding 70 mph during nighttime on BlueCruise mode, leading to collisions with stationary vehicles.

The NHTSA is particularly concerned about the system's limitations in detecting permanent roadside objects while vehicles operate at highway speeds under low-light conditions. The agency emphasizes the need to further assess driver reactions to potential over-the-limit scenarios. Ford has yet to respond to inquiries regarding these incidents, as confirmed by Reuters.