Driving without hands and with your eyes on the road is now legal in Spain. But with nuances. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, with the collaboration of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), has approved the Ford BlueCruise system that allows you to drive without hands and with your eyes on the road on Spanish highways and highways. "We are the second country in the Union to approve this technology, which is pioneering, and which will allow Spanish drivers to add an assisted driving service to an enormous number of kilometers of the road network," said Francisco Blanco, Secretary General of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises.
After Great Britain and Germany, where it was introduced earlier this year, Spain is the third European market to have Ford's BlueCruise system available, which offers the American company's customers the ability to drive hands-free on highways and expressways.
After the approval of BlueCruise, owners of a Ford Mustang Mach-E purchased from October 12, 2023 in our country can use and activate this advanced technology through subscription. Customers have the opportunity to test this system for 90 days. At the end of this period, or at any other time in their life with the Mach-E, customers have the option to activate this system for a price of 24.99 euros per month with no commitment to permanence.
Ford BlueCruise users can use this advanced driving assistance technology to safely take their hands off the wheel and their foot off the accelerator when in a Blue Zone. Blue Zones are certain sections of the Spanish motorway and highway network in which BlueCruise is available.
The Ford BlueCruise advanced driver assistance system has been tested over more than 1.1 million kilometers around the world and finely tuned to deliver an intuitive and safe experience. More than 225,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles are equipped with this innovative system and their drivers have already driven more than 160 million kilometers hands-free in the United States and Canada, the manufacturer claims.
Using sensors, Ford BlueCruise detects lane markings and changing traffic conditions. Based on this information, the advanced assistance system controls the steering, acceleration, braking and position of the vehicle in its own lane. Depending on the speed, it maintains the appropriate distance to the traffic in front of it, even stopping and starting again in slow traffic situations.
At the same time, a camera located in the dashboard monitors the driver's gaze and head position, in order to try to ensure that his eyes remain fixed on the road.
Hands-free driving is available when activated through the driver assistance settings menu, so ACC is activated when the vehicle detects that it has entered an authorized Blue Zone on public roads. For Ford BlueCruise to work, the driver must start by placing their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. When the instrument panel display indicates that it is safe, the driver can remove his hands from the steering without taking his eyes off the road.
