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Hands-Free Active Driving Assist on the RAM 1500

Hands-Free Active Driving Assist is an available driver-assistance system on the RAM 1500 that can keep the truck centered in its lane and hold a set speed and following distance, letting you take your hands off the wheel on approved highways. It is a Level 2+ (L2+) system, which means it is a partially automated convenience aid, not a self-driving system: you stay responsible for the truck, keep your eyes on the road, and need to be ready to take over at any time. For drivers covering long highway miles across Western Pennsylvania, it is built to ease the workload on the interstate, not to replace the driver.

  • What It Does
  • Staying Attentive
  • Where You Can Use It
  • Using It in Pennsylvania
  • What You Need to Run It
  • Seeing It in Person
  • FAQ
RAM 1500 dashboard view with Hands-Free Active Driving Assist driver-assistance system

What Hands-Free Active Driving Assist Does

The system uses cameras, radar, and sensors to manage several highway tasks at once, holding a set speed and a safe following distance while keeping the truck centered in its lane on approved roads. Three capabilities work together:

  • Adaptive cruise with lane centering holds your set speed and following distance, slowing and resuming as traffic changes, and steers to keep the truck centered without your hands on the wheel.

  • Curve Speed Control senses an approaching curve and eases the speed down to a more appropriate level, then returns to your set speed once through it.

  • Assisted Lane Change moves the truck over when you tap the turn signal, after it checks the adjacent lane and your blind spots and confirms the lane is clear.

Staying Attentive

Because the system lets you take your hands off the wheel, it watches to confirm you are still paying attention. A driver-monitoring camera on the steering column, along with sensors in the steering wheel, checks that you are attentive with your eyes on the road. Your status shows in the cluster through colored indicators: white when the system is on but not steering, green when it is engaged and you are attentive, yellow when it senses your attention has drifted, and red when it needs you to take back control. The seat also vibrates as the warnings escalate. If you still do not respond, the system can bring the truck to a controlled stop in its lane and shift into park.

Where You Can Use It

Hands-free operation is limited to approved roads, not every road. The system works on a defined network of divided, limited-access highways, and a compatible-roadways map shows which roads qualify, so it is worth checking before you count on it for a given route. Off that network, the truck shifts to hands-on assistance that keeps the truck centered while you hold the wheel. The system is also meant to be switched off in conditions where steady, predictable driving is not possible, such as heavy weather, construction zones, or stretches with worn or missing lane markings. It will not engage when a trailer is connected, and it does not operate above 90 mph.

RAM 1500 using Hands-Free Active Driving Assist on a divided highway in Pennsylvania

Using It in Pennsylvania

Hands-Free Active Driving Assist is built for exactly the kind of long, divided-highway driving common across Western Pennsylvania, but Pennsylvania law draws an important line that is easy to miss. The state's hands-free law, known as Paul Miller's Law, is now in effect with enforcement, and it prohibits holding or using a handheld phone or device while driving, including when you are stopped at a red light or sitting in traffic, with a $50 fine for violations. Hands-free use, such as calls, navigation, and music through the vehicle, is still allowed.

The key thing to understand is that two different ideas of "hands-free" are in play. The law is about your phone: do not hold it. The driving system is about the wheel: on approved highways it lets you take your hands off the wheel. They do not cancel each other out. You must not use a handheld device while the system is engaged, which lines up with state law. So even with the truck steering itself down the interstate, your phone stays out of your hands, and you stay responsible for the truck. Because laws change and individual situations differ, it is worth confirming the current rules that apply where you drive.

What You Need to Run It

Hands-Free Active Driving Assist is an available feature with a few requirements behind it. The truck has to be equipped for it, and the hands-free capability runs on a paid Ram Connect subscription, which comes with a 3-year trial before the paid term begins. It also needs a clear cellular signal to operate in hands-free mode. On many builds, the hands-free system and the simpler hands-on lane-centering system are set up as a single choice, so depending on the truck, choosing hands-free may mean it reverts to hands-on assistance off the highway rather than offering a separate system. The system also will not steer around hazards, construction, or objects in the road, which is the clearest reason it is an aid for an attentive driver rather than a substitute for one. You can read more about the connected-services side on our Uconnect page.

It is standard on the Tungsten and available on the RHO, Laramie, Limited, and Limited Longhorn, with availability on some other trims, such as the Rebel, through an equipment package. Availability can shift with the build, so it is worth confirming on the specific truck.

RAM 1500 infotainment and Ram Connect setup for Hands-Free Active Driving Assist

Seeing It in Person

RAM 1500 equipped with Hands-Free Active Driving Assist at Mike Kelly CDJR

Hands-Free Active Driving Assist makes far more sense from the driver's seat than on paper, so the next step is a truck you can sit in. At Mike Kelly Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, we can show you where the system engages and where it hands control back, on a RAM 1500 actually equipped with it. The trucks that have it move in and out of stock, so tell us how you drive and we will line one up for you here in Western Pennsylvania and the Shenango Valley.

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Hands-Free Active Driving Assist FAQ

It is an available Level 2+ driver-assistance system that keeps the truck centered in its lane and maintains a set speed and following distance, allowing hands-off driving on approved highways while the driver stays attentive.

No. It is a partially automated convenience aid, not autonomous driving. The driver stays responsible at all times, and the system will not steer around hazards, construction, or objects in the road.

Only on a defined network of approved divided highways, shown on a compatible-roadways map. Off that network it reverts to hands-on assistance that keeps the truck centered while you hold the wheel.

An equipped truck, the Hands-Free Active Driving Assist Ram Connect subscription, which includes a 3-year trial before the paid term, and a clear cellular signal.

No. You should keep your hands off your phone: Pennsylvania's Paul Miller's Law bans holding a handheld device while driving, and a handheld device should not be used while the system is engaged. Hands-free use for calls, navigation, and music is allowed. The system frees your hands from the wheel, not for your phone.

No. It is standard on the Tungsten and available on the RHO, Laramie, Limited, and Limited Longhorn, plus some other trims through an equipment package, so confirm on the specific truck.

Picture may not represent actual vehicle. Price varies based on Trim Levels and Options. See Dealer for in-stock inventory & actual selling price. Online pricing subject to verification by dealership and subject to errors and omissions. All prices plus tax, title & Doc Fee ($490), with approved credit.