While Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free highway driving assist feature is currently under investigation by the NHTSA following a pair of fatal accidents, the automaker also offers an array of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as part of its Ford Co-Pilot360 2.0 suite, too. Two of the features found in that particular group include lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control, which do make it possible to at least allow a vehicle to somewhat drive itself – and unfortunately, there are some folks, like this not-terribly-smart person named Cameron James – that take advantage of that fact and do stupid things, as we can see in this short clip featuring a Ford F-450 Super Duty.
In the clip – which was originally posted by James but quickly deleted for obvious reasons – we see a pair of weighted bags sitting on top of the steering wheel of the Ford F-450 Super Duty, after which the camera pans to the rear seat, where James is laying down taking a rest. It goes without saying that while we’ve seen these types of dumb acts before, this is obviously a bad idea, and one that could have resulted in a horrific accident or something far worse – especially since in this case, the truck is tooling along at 80 mph.
As Ford Authority previously reported, the redesigned 2023 and up Ford Super Duty didn’t gain BlueCruise as an option because of complexities related to its suspension architecture, as well as the fact that the feature doesn’t currently work with trailers – and that’s why most people buy a Super Duty, after all – to tow things.
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In any event, lane centering and adaptive cruise control still allow owners to cruise along on the highway and let the truck do most of the work, though those features are also intended to have someone in the driver’s seat, paying attention with their eyes forward and hands on the wheel. Unfortunately, people like James continue to circumvent those safety requirements in an effort to gain social media clout, and as we’ve seen before, such an act isn’t terribly difficult to do – though it is incredibly stupid and potentially dangerous.
We’ll have more on the Super Duty soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford Super Duty news, and continuous Ford news coverage.
H/T: The Drive
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