Ford "MyKey" keeps teen drivers under 80 mph
Mon Oct 6, 2008 3:12PM EDT
See Comments (101)
The new, chip-embedded car keys will also keep young drivers from cranking the car stereo, as well as sound alarms until seat belts get fastened. Looks like the carefree days of "American Graffiti" are over, in more ways than one.
Besides the option of keeping young drivers from going over 80 miles per hour (leaving a slight buffer over most state speeding limits "in case an unusual situation arises," the AP notes), parents can also set MyKey to sound in-car alerts if their kids accelerate past 45, 55, or 65 miles per hour.
Among other possible MyKey restrictions: A volume limit for the car radio (to "44 percent of totally volume"), along with chimes that sound once a minute (and mute the radio) until drivers and passengers buckle their seat belts.
Naturally, teens aren't amused by the coming MyKey feature; indeed, a Ford survey found that 67 percent of teen drivers "don't like" the idea (no kidding). Then again, when asked to factor in the possibility that MyKey might give them more chances behind the wheel, the "hate it" figure drops to 36 percent, according to Ford's survey.
OK, but are built-in speed limits for cars really a good idea? You could argue that all drivers need to be able to accelerate away from danger—especially if you're trying to pass a line of cars while facing oncoming traffic.
That said, I can't remember the last time I truly needed to speed beyond 80 mph, for any reason. And then there's this sobering statistic (PDF): More than 6,500 fatal car crashes last year involved drivers aged 15-20, while speeding was a factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes in 2007.
So, parents and teens … what do you think? Are set-in-stone speeding limits a good idea? What about the car radio and seat-belt restrictions? And for the teens: Would you accept a MyKey if it meant getting more chances to drive?
Related:
Ford feature will let parents set limits for teens [AP]
Comments on Ford "MyKey" keeps teen drivers under 80 mph
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2 Posted by brice_78 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse
This is laughable. The chance that young drivers wont immediately learn to circumvent this safety feature is nill. How well did seat belt "dingers" last? about as long as it took to cut the wire.
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3 Posted by brighamg5 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse
Sounds like a good idea. I know that teenagers may be able to find a way around this but if my kid were to somehow modify or cut the wires in MY vehicle (even though he/she is the driver) that would be the last time they drove MY vehicle. Any reservations about the speed thing are idiotic. When do you ever need to go above 80 or say 85? Besides, if you knew that was the limit, then you would avoice situations where you could potentially go faster then that. Remember people, we're talking a restrictive key for your teenage driver, not you.
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4 Posted by cd4niche on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:20PM EDT Report Abuse
all features seem good to help with saftey but how will this affect the consumer in the after market plan of up grading their audio system . or will this just cause you to spend more for that navigation system the factory offers, than buying for a lower price at your local stereo shop because the system will not intergrate.
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5 Posted by rivashugo@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:42PM EDT Report Abuse
this is totally cool. Acceleration and speed are 2 different things. you can accelerate at a high speed to get away, but once you hit 80 you've left the danger in the dust. And blasting the radio thing...also cool. what's wrong with teaching safety. you make your kids brush their teeth cuz it's safe/healthy/prophylactic. Why not take that idea to other aspects in life?
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6 Posted by alpyne2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:51PM EDT Report Abuse
I'm in favor of it being available, even if I only ever give the Kidz key to parking attendants. I've owned cars that couldn't go faster than 80 MPH regardless of what key was used. This is a reasonable limit when highway use is a possibility. The in-car alerts at 45, 55, or 65 MPH might represent a challenge to some kids (how long can you drive with the buzzer on?), but combined with monitoring (on the Internet via GPS?) would be useful for many families.
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7 Posted by brianroconnor@ymail.com on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse
i never drive above 80. the music restriction would be sad :( because i like loud music. and also, i always wear my seatbelt/make people wear their seatbelt. and i have my own car that i can drive whenever, so i wouldn't want this. i'm 16 btw.
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8 Posted by somebodys_here on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:32PM EDT Report Abuse
What about the highways in some parts of Texas? The speed limits are (really) 80MPH. That's a bit of a restriction, isn't it?
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9 Posted by noteasy2bme on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:41PM EDT Report Abuse
Wouldn't the easiest way for a teen to get around this whole "MyKey" restriction, be jus to go to a hardware store and get a copy of the key made?!?!
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10 Posted by daninperth on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:35PM EDT Report Abuse
I wonder what kind of waivers are attached to the sale of this key. Probably a good one. This is the land of law suits and it's only a matter of time before for some reason the fact that someone could not go as fast as they might otherwise have opens up an opportunity to claim. Preposterous? Take a look at what flies in court these days.
1 Posted by middlenamefrank on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:19PM EDT Report Abuse
I think the phrase "necessary evil" might apply here. Nobody likes restricting freedoms, but we do sometimes (like motorcycle helmet laws and car seatbelt laws) because we have to acknowledge the safety threat. And if it's just a governor that only limits top speed, the full acceleration of the vehicle should be available to avoid threats. There shouldn't be any need for speeds above 80 mph ever.