Parental Controls Built into New Ford Vehicles

2008-10-06 22:22:38 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Technology)

Ford Motor Company introduced a computer chip key for teens that limits the maximum speed and stereo volume in some 2010 vehicles.

Fort Worth, TX (WiredPRNews.com)—In 2010, some Ford vehicles will have parental controls that limit the maximum speed and stereo volume.

According to an Associated Press article by Tom Krisher that appeared in Yahoo.com’s news page on October 6, 2008, a special key that has an imbedded computer chip will trigger the parental controls.

MyKey, as Ford calls it, lets parents program it to make annoying sounds every six seconds if the driver goes over certain speeds, according to the Associated Press article. The chip key will also chime repeatedly if the driver does not fasten the safety belt, according to the article.

New teenage drivers have a much higher rate of vehicle accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The administration’s website, NHTSA.gov, indicates that automobile wrecks are the leading cause of death among teens.

According to the Associated Press article, drivers in the 30 to 59-year age group are one-tenth as likely to be involved in automobile accidents, per mile driven, as 16-year-old drivers.

Most of the traffic accidents, according to the Associated Press article, were linked to a combination of high speed and low experience. This is why auto insurance rates are sky high for drivers in the 16-20 year age group.

Three-fourths of the parents polled liked the controls, according to the article, but the opposite was true among teen drivers. However, the article did indicate that parents who had the MyKey system on their vehicle would be 50% more likely to let their teenaged children use the family car.

Ford plans to make MyKey a standard feature on the 2010 Focus, according to the article, which also indicated that the carmaker will add it to other models as well.