Ford planning a car parents will love
Categories: Teens & tweens, Health & safety
All I can say is that I'm sure glad they didn't have this system when I was a teenager. Ford is introducing a system that allows parents to control a vehicle's maximum speed, limit the radio volume, and even ensure that seatbelts are worn. All of this is part of a system called MyKey that will initially be standard on the 2010 Ford Focus due out next year and on other vehicles in the future.The system comes with up to eight keys, each of which can have its own settings. Parents control the system with a master key. "Teens are probably the riskiest drivers," said Sue Cischke, group vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering at Ford. "MyKey helps parents encourage their teens to drive safely." More like forces them to drive, well, safer, anyway. Take the seatbelts, for example. Not only is the car more annoying in reminding occupants to buckle up, but the stereo won't come on until everyone's belted in.
As a teen, I don't think I would have liked this system but, as a parent, I am definitely intrigued. This seems a lot simpler than following them around all the time.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jamie 10-08-2008 @ 9:34AM
Hahahahahaha! This key, along with the GPS is my son's cell phone, makes being a parent so sneaky!
Reply
Joy 10-08-2008 @ 11:34AM
I hate to admit it but I think this is a great idea. To bad it's to late for my boys.
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pamela 10-08-2008 @ 12:07PM
i love to admit it!! that is absolutly brilliant!!
Reply
LS 10-08-2008 @ 12:28PM
On the surface, it seems like a great idea. But I have some "down the road" reservations. And a few current ones, actually.
First, living in a rural area, we do a lot of work (a LOT) where you jump in and out of a vehicle, and you're moving five feet, and you don't put the seat belt on. With a "fail-safe" like this, it would make that kind of stuff just a pain in the butt.
Second, once the automakers put this into play, and every Helicopter Parent out there decides that this is the Greatest Invention Ever, how long will it be before the Helicopter Politicians decide the same thing - that everyone would be "safer" if they had the ability to control the way we drive.
Very slippery slope. Don't like it. At some point, we, as parents, need to learn to trust ourselves, and the way we brought our children up... which means that we have to learn to trust them. If you don't think they can handle a car without all these things in place, they shouldn't be given the keys. Period.
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