Self Driving Cars Are (Almost) Here: Hands-Free Systems Like Super Cruise, Blue Cruise Take the Wheel

We still have a long way to go before cars become completely autonomous — or self driving cars— but hands-free technology has become increasingly available. With this tech, drivers can take their hands off the wheel and let the car do the hard work of braking, accelerating, changing lanes and even parking, but only in certain conditions or on certain roads.

The comforting news is that in every hands-free driving option currently available, drivers are still required to maintain their focus on the road, so if your plan is to kick back, relax and scroll your social media feed, think again.

Whether you think letting cars take over the driving experience is a good thing or a bad thing, there’s no denying that automakers have made impressive strides with these features in recent years. But the burning question remains: Is it safe?

Read: The Future of Driving: 10 Technologies You Need in Your Next New Car

If you claim to have a self driving car, you might want to check that statement. According to J.D. Power, there are six degrees of autonomous driving, ranging from 0 (no self driving) to 5 (full driving automation).

• Level 1: Driver Assistance. Levels 1 and 2 offer some degree of driver assistance, but they also require “an active and engaged driver” who remains alert and can take control of the car at any point necessary. For Level 1, adaptive cruise control is a good example. Technically, the car is taking some control by reducing speed and maintaining a safe following distance from the car in front of you. But staying centered in the lane is still your job.
• Level 2: Partial Driving Automation. If a car offers either adaptive cruise control or lane-keep assist, it can be classified as Level 1. If it offers both, that qualifies as Level 2 because now it’s helping you steer, accelerate and brake. In fact, most of the “self driving” cars on the road today are still just at Level 2 — but Level 3 is coming very soon!
• Level 3: Conditional Driving Automation. The jump from Level 2 to Level 3 is significant because now you go from driver-supported features to automated driving features, meaning the car will actually make decisions based on driving situations.

Read: Future Cars That are Electric, Self Driving and as Customizable as Legos? Kia Is Building It!

Levels 1, 2 and 3 of autonomy rely on the driver being present and attentive. But eventually, “people inside the vehicle do not need to supervise the technology, which means they can engage in other activities,” J.D. Power explains. Here’s what that will look like:

• Level 4: High Driving Automation. Level 4 driving automation is high-driving automation that doesn’t require any human intervention at all. In fact, a Level 4 self driving car may not have any pedals or a steering wheel at all. A car equipped with this level of self driving would be safe to nap in while commuting around.
• Level 5: Full Driving Automation. Finally, there’s Level 5 driving, which is full driving automation. This level isn’t affected by the weather or geographical inhibitions. All you have to do is set your destination and bam! You’re done.

As you can see, there’s still a long road ahead before we see self driving cars on the streets. In the meantime, here’s a look at a few manufacturers that offer Level 2—and (almost) Level 3—autonomous driving features.

GM is bullish on its hands-free driving system, having added it as an option or standard feature to many of its models for 2024 and 2024 and adding new upgrades to the system. Buyers who take the option (or get it standard) will have a few cyears of use and then will need to subscribe. The good news is that Super Cruise, at about $75 a month, can be subscribed to just like Netflix: sign on for summer vacation, cancel when you’re done.

Super Cruise is notable for a bar at the top of the steering wheel that turns blue when adaptive cruise is turned on and the the roads and driving conditions meet Super Cruise criteria. The bar turns green when the system is active and red when the driver needs to take over. The system works only on highways that GM has mapped for this purpose and that number that will stretch to 750,000 miles by the end of 2025.

In addition to adapting your speed and maintaining your lane, the system can change lanes automatically or when the driver taps the turn signal. It also has trailering capability allowing trucks and SUVs to use the system when towing.

Super Cruise is currently available on most Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick vehicles.

Called BlueCruise for the Ford Blue Oval, the system also uses blue as an indicator that the system is active. When using adaptive cruise, if the display turns blue, that’s Ford BlueCruise’s way of telling you it’s safe to take your hands off the wheel. Ford is proud of the fact that their BlueCruise driving assistance system received high praise recently from Consumer Reports. Among the 17 systems tested, BlueCruise was ranked No. 1 for its performance, ease of use, ability to keep the driver engaged, clear indication of when it was safe to use and how it responds to an unresponsive driver.

Ford BlueCruise is available on an increasing number of Ford models, including the Explorer, Mustang Mach-E, F-150, F-150 Lightning and Expedition.

With BMW Highway Assistant, you’re free to let go of the wheel and let the car steer itself once you get the “Assist Plus” message on the gauge cluster. This hands-free driving technology can even suggest lane changes, which you can confirm by glancing at the appropriate side mirror.

The car uses radar and sensors to detect road conditions while keeping an infrared camera on the driver to detect their responsiveness. If your eyes wander and it’s clear you’re not paying attention, the BMW will send out an auditory warning within six seconds.

Highway Assistant is currently part of an optional Driving Assistance Professional Package, which you can get on the iX, 5 Series, 7 Series, X5, X6 (but not M Competition models) and X7. It comes standard on the XM.

When you’re on a compatible road, the Nissan ProPilot Assist 2.0 lets you take your hands off the wheel and your feet off the pedals while the car steers, accelerates and brakes for you. It can help you navigate lane changes, too, but for that you’ll need to put your hands back on the wheel. Regular ProPilot Assist does not include a hands-free feature.

The Nissan Ariya, Nissan Armada and Nissan Murano, as well as Infiniti QX80 offer ProPilot Assist 2.0.

Here’s where things get really interesting. Mercedes-Benz is currently the only automaker that offers a Level 3 autonomous driving system — but it’s only available in California and Nevada at the time of this writing and only on their S-Class and EQS sedan.

Much like the other advanced driver assistance systems on this list, Drive Pilot will take care of all of the braking and accelerating for you when conditions are met on the road. What makes this system slightly different is that drivers don’t have to keep their eyes on the road. In fact, they can even play games or watch videos on the car’s central display!

Once again, though, there’s still no snoozing on this job. Even though the car gives you more freedom to relax, you still have to be able to take over and assume control if needed. If the car senses that you’re not alert enough to do so, it’ll wait 10 seconds before disengaging the system, turning on your hazard lights and slowly bringing the car to a standstill. So don’t get too comfy.

Stellantis, parent company of Jeep and Ram, rolled out its own system called Active Driving Assist. Like Ford’s BlueCruise it operates on certain mapped highways and is an option that will require a subscription after the initial few years of ownership. For now it’s available on new Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 models but expect to see it roll out across the Stellantis portfolio, which also includes Dodge, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and others.

Genesis introduced Highway Driving II, in recent models including the updated GV80 and the G80. This semi-hands-free system allows the driver to take hands off the wheel for a few minutes at a time before prompting to take the wheel.

Toyota has taken a more beta-test type approach with Teammate, its hands-free driving system. It was introduced in the hydrogen-powered Mirai and Lexus LS 500h, but has yet to roll out to other models.

And Volvo, in the roll-out of the EX90, included hardware built into the car that, in the future and with over-the-air software updates, will allow hands free driving. Other car makers are making advances, too and it’s likely that in the not-so-distant future buyers of Hyundai, Honda, Jeep and others will be able to opt for hands-free driving systems on new cars.

One of the most well-known self-driving (ish) systems out there is Tesla’s Autopilot advanced driver assistance system, which comes standard in every new Tesla. And if you’re a little confused about what Autopilot is, that’s understandable. Tesla actually uses three different advanced driver assistance systems: Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD). (Again, don’t let the name confuse you on that last one. Remember — we don’t have fully self-driving cars just yet!)

Autopilot has two functions: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (or, you know, adaptive cruise control) and Autosteer (or what we common folk call “lane-keep assist”).

Enhanced Autopilot includes the same features as Autopilot but adds lane changing and parking to the mix.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving capability (which is a little bit of a misnomer) does all of that, plus it autosteers in city streets and can identify and respond to traffic signs and signals.

One caveat with these features? They’re not hands-free. Tesla explicitly states that the driver’s hands must be on the wheel and they need to be “prepared to take over at any moment.”

Now, about that elephant in the room… Tesla has something to say about all those reports of people crashing cars with the Autopilot system engaged.

“In the 4th quarter of 2022, we recorded one crash for every 4.85 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology,” their website states. “For drivers who were not using Autopilot technology, we recorded one crash for every 1.40 million miles driven.”

That’s their polite way of saying, “Our system still drives better than you do.”

For my part, I personally love the Highway Driving Assist 2 feature on my Kia Telluride. After a tiring day, I love that I can just engage my Telluride’s adaptive cruise control feature with lane centering and basically let it do most of the slogging on a long and boring drive home. Of course, I still have to keep my eyes on the road and my hands on the wheel (if you don’t, the Kia chides you via the driver display). But it’s a comfort to know that I don’t have to worry about modulating the gas pedal or veering into the other lane.

For me, this level of self-driving feels like just the right amount of hands-free driving. I’m still in charge, but I’m delegating some of the menial, repetitive tasks to the car while I focus on just keeping my eyes on the road. I can feel my stress level ebb as soon as the system engages.

Most of these systems require compatible roads and specific conditions in order to function properly. Each system has an emergency stopping procedure if the driver fails to engage with the car when needed, but it varies for each manufacturer. It’s always a good idea to consult your Owner’s Manual for everything you need to know before using your car’s available hands-free technology.

Ultimately, safety is the goal, and part of that is reducing driver stress. So while true self-driving cars aren’t here yet, we are making safe and comfortable inroads.

And we still have that Tom Cruise blockbuster to look forward to someday.