Today, many major vehicle manufacturers are participating in the race to make a self-driving car. Some drivers dream of a day when these exist— if you’ve been watching Amazon Prime’s dystopian show Upload, you probably have a taste for these autonomous vehicles. Others think the idea of self-driving vehicles is terrifying and would usher in a wave of increased accidents. Luckily, we don’t have to agree on truly self-driving cars because there is no such thing for now. What does exist, however, are Active Driving Assistance Systems (ADAs).
ADAs build on standard cruise control, which many know as a system that lets you set a desired speed, take your foot off the gas, and watch the vehicle maintain your speed all on its own. They also incorporate the following distance indicators, which work to keep a safe distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you. How ADAs build upon these systems, however, is in their ability to also take over steering. So ADAs brake, accelerate, and steer for you. The 2024 Ford F-150 has one of the arguably best ADAs available with its BlueCruise system, named by Consumer Reports as a Top-Rated Active Driving Assistance System. Several features set it apart from its competitors, like Chevrolet’s Super Cruise or even Tesla’s autopilot system. Here are all of the impressive things Ford’s BlueCruise can do.
BlueCruise Knows When You’re Not Paying Attention
It can be hard to see how BlueCruise differs from a self-driving car. However, there is one major difference: the driver must keep their eyes on the road when BlueCruise is activated. You can’t text or take a nap while the system is activated. In fact, it has a driver-facing camera that monitors you. Suppose the camera senses you taking your eyes off the road for over five minutes. In that case, it issues audio and visual alerts to grab your attention. If you still fail to look at the road, the vehicle will automatically slow down to six miles per hour — which should grab your attention.
Consumer Reports noted that not every vehicle with an ADA system has a driver monitoring system, and those that do aren’t as precise and responsive as BlueCruise’s. Driver monitoring is critical to driver safety, and BlueCruise simply has the best system for it.
BlueCruise Works On Highways And Non-Highway Roads
Many compare BlueCruise to Chevrolet’s Super Cruise system, which, by some drivers’ standards, was the previously reigning ADA system. Here’s a major perk of the BlueCruise system: you don’t only get to use it on freeways. Chevy’s Super Cruise system only works on freeways, but you can use BlueCruise on non-freeway roads, thanks to its more complex capabilities. For example, it allows for collaborative driving, meaning you can choose to take control of the wheel while BlueCruise is activated and take your hands back off without interrupting the system.
On many other ADA systems, if you touch the wheel while it’s active, it automatically shuts off as the vehicle assumes you’re ready to take over driving full-time. If you want to use the ADA system again, you must re-engage it. Meanwhile, BlueCruise remains activated until you turn it off, so you can do some driving when necessary and let the system take over at other times. Such versatility makes BlueCruise far more city and suburb-ready than comparable systems.
BlueCruise Notifies You Of Upcoming Hazards
BlueCruise has thousands of miles of pre-mapped highways in its system— it knows these roads like the back of… well, not its hand because cameras and sensors don’t have hands, but you get the idea. Thanks to the system’s wealth of intel, BlueCruise is aware of upcoming hazards, like sharp turns, lane merges, and sudden curves. When it detects one of these coming up, BlueCruise will notify you and prompt you to take over steering again.
Enjoy Hands-Free Lane Changing And Lane Repositioning.
It’ll be hard not to believe a ghost is driving your vehicle when you see this happen, but BlueCruise can change lanes for you. Just tap on the turn signal, and it will seamlessly change lanes when it’s safe to do so.
The system can also help you maintain your lane nicely. Suppose it senses a particularly wide vehicle next to you, like a semi-truck or an RV. In that case, it’ll make small adjustments to put more space between you and this vessel.
You Can Choose A Monthly Or Annual Subscription
One very convenient feature of BlueCruise — and one that’s new for the 2024 year — is the nature of your subscription. Starting on 2024 models, drivers can choose either an annual or a monthly subscription.
Some drivers know that they tackle long drives regularly and that having BlueCruise available to them 365 days a year simply makes sense. Meanwhile, other drivers only hit the road for long hauls periodically, so paying for BlueCruise year-round might not make sense. A monthly subscription gives these drivers the freedom to pay for BlueCruise when needed and forego it when they don’t.
Why You’ll Love Having BlueCruise
When you’re on long drives, sometimes you just get tired of holding the wheel. You feel your arms cramping up, and you might even make involuntary movements because your arms are so tired. When this begins to happen, you might be safer using the BlueCruise system. It never tires, and it will keep your vehicle centered. Relax, take advantage of that armrest, and prevent your wrists from locking up.
If you like to gesture a lot while you tell stories, you’ll also enjoy having your hands free to express yourself as you normally would. In fact, BlueCruise is ideal for drivers with deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers because it allows a driver to use sign language when, otherwise, communicating with these passengers would be almost impossible.
The Future Of A Relaxed Ride Is Here With BlueCruise
If you spend a long time behind the wheel regularly, you know how easy it is to get fatigued by the driving process. Driving doesn’t have to be so grueling, thanks to hands-free systems like BlueCruise. Ford loyalists have been anxiously awaiting Ford to release a system that rivaled Chevy’s Super Cruise. Ford delivered, not only meeting that expectation but exceeding it, with a system that Consumer Reports themselves say trumps the rest.
You drivers who aren’t quite ready for self-driving cars but wouldn’t mind a little break behind the wheel, check out BlueCruise in the 2024 Ford F-150. You’ll love the opportunity to kick back and relax a little (while always keeping your eyes on the road, of course). It’s just one more way Ford delivers systems that make driving more enjoyable while proving itself as a company that never stops innovating.
If you’re on the fence about using BlueCruise, the great news is that you can try it for a month and then turn off your subscription if you don’t like it. Suppose you’re not willing to take that chance. In that case, you can always schedule a “test drive” at your nearest licensed dealer, giving you an opportunity to experience the BlueCruise for yourself on an available model without making any significant commitment. There’s always the option to back out, but you’ll probably love it.
