Parents Get Key To Slow Teen Drivers

Ford Rolls Out Computer Chip Feature That Can Limit Drivers' Speed And Stereo Volume

(AP)  So you think junior is a little too lead-footed when he drives the family car? Starting next year, Ford Motor Co. will give you the power to do something about it.

The company will roll out a new feature on many 2010 models that can limit teen drivers to 80 mph, using a computer chip in the key.

Parents also have the option of programming the teen's key to limit the audio system's volume, and to sound continuous alerts if the driver doesn't wear a seat belt.

"Our message to parents is, hey, we are providing you some conditions to give your new drivers that may allow you to feel a little more comfortable in giving them the car more often," said Jim Buczkowski, Ford's director of electronic and electrical systems engineering.

The feature, called "MyKey," will be standard on an unspecified number of Ford models when the 2010 cars and trucks come out late next summer. The feature will spread to the entire Ford, Lincoln and Mercury lineup as models are updated, spokesman Wes Sherwood said.

Ford arrived at the 80 mph limit even though freeway speed limits are lower in most states because it wanted to leave a margin in case an unusual situation arises, Buczkowski said. In some states, freeway speed limits are above 70 mph, Sherwood said.

"Just lopping it off at exactly 70 mph was felt to be too limiting," Buczkowski said.

The company already uses computer chips in its keys to prevent thefts. The car won't start unless it recognizes the chip in the key.

"It's making use of existing technology, and through the magic of software, we're able to build features on top of the features we already have," Buczkowski said.

In addition to speed limits, MyKey also will limit the volume of the audio system, and it will sound a six-second chime every minute if seat belts are not fastened. The chime sounds for adult drivers, too, but ends after five minutes to avoid annoying adults who adamantly don't want to wear seat belts, Buczkowski said.

Parents also have the option of having the car sound a chime if the teen exceeds 45, 55 or 65 mph.

The feature will debut on the 2010 Focus compact car and quickly move to other company models as a standard feature, the company said.

Ford said its market research shows 75 percent of parents like the speed and audio limits, but as you might expect, 67 percent of teens don't like them.

Danisha Williams, a 16-year-old senior at Southfield-Lathrup High School in suburban Detroit, said she's against the idea.

"I wouldn't want my parents to have that much control over how I'm driving," she said. "If your parents are holding your hand, you're never going to learn."

Brittany Hawthorne, 17, another Southfield-Lathrup senior, said there may be emergency situations where she'd have to drive more than 80, possibly to accelerate to avoid a crash.

Ford's research shows that parents would be more likely to let teens use their vehicles with the system, Sherwood said, and if it gets them the car more often, the number of teens objecting drops by nearly half.

A top official from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry that is pushing to raise the minimum driving age to 17 or 18, found the key intriguing and said she was not aware of any other manufacturer offering such a feature. IIHS says car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers.

"Research we've done has shown that speeding is a major factor in teen crashes, especially novice teen drivers," said Anne McCartt, the institute's senior vice president for research. "So I think a system that tries to correct the speeding behavior has the potential to improve safety."

More than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of crashes, fatal and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Several U.S. auto insurers have begun offering in-car cameras or global positioning equipment to help parents monitor their teens' driving behavior, in the hope of reducing the number of crashes.

[momalso]

I wish there would have been something like this on October 14, 2001, because then my precious 15-year old son, Benjamin, might still be alive. I let him go on a two-hour outing with his 16-year old friend who had just gotten his license. His friend ended up drag racing with someone Ben didn''t even know. They went out of control and hit a tree on Ben''s side. They say he died instantly of a broken neck... I hope it WAS instantly, that he didn''t cry out my name and plead for me to help him... We now have a family fund and local programs in Ben''s name to alert kids to the dangers of speeding. We were honored to be part of the Graduated License Bill (affectionately known as "Ben''s Law") adopted by Oklahoma in 2005. But I would give back any acclaim we may have received, just to be able to watch my son grow up into the marvelous man I know he would have been. Parents, if you have any opportunity at all to use this new technology, please consider it. You don''t want to belong to the "special club of bereaved parents" that we have been a part of for the last seven years. Thank you.

[susanhelit]

This is what I get my daughter, that''s for sure! I wish the speed limit was a bit lower though. No, there is no situation where you have to accelerate that fast to avoid an accident - accidents happen too fast for you to even get up to those speeds.

The kids who don''t like this - they''re exactly the ones who need this. Who don''t realize learning without some handholding is possibly deadly. They don''t know, really, how final death is, how awful it is when you kill someone else, how much their life would change were they maimed or even just a little injured in a car crash.

[hologram5]

@momalso, I feel your grief, parents should not outlive their children. If something happened to one of my daughters, my reason for living would end. I think this idea is very innovative and should save lives in the long run.

[mytoosense]

When I was 17 I owned two cars I bought with my own wages and got them running with my own skills and determination. In 1977 that made me a typical teenager.
The only place we could find speed governors back then was at the go cart track.

I feel sorry for kids today, They are over coddled, over supervised, overweight and overly dull;
Mom, Dad and the rest of us are responsible.

[osiod9]

80 MPH? For the life of me I can''t think of a single "unusual situation" that could possibly warrant an inexperienced teen driving that fast. I guarantee that if I ever caught one of my kids going that fast, I''d be snatching those keys about 100 times faster. What parents really need is software that logs every move they make, and if they take a foolish risk, warns them in a stern tone that "Dad will likely break his foot off in your a$$"

[tipsyinct]

80 MPH? For the life of me I can''''t think of a single "unusual situation" that could possibly warrant an inexperienced teen driving that fast.
Posted by Osiod9 at 12:37 PM : Oct 07, 2008

What if they are driving to an island and the bridge is broken in the middle, and the only way to get over to the island and save you from dying in the house fire that you got yourself into over there was to jump the bridge, and the bridge was at such an angle and distance that you had to accelerate to 80mph to make it? You''d want that car to be going 80 and not 70, I tell you what!!

[tipsyinct]

I feel sorry for kids today, They are over coddled, over supervised, overweight and overly dull;
Mom, Dad and the rest of us are responsible.
Posted by mytoosense at 11:18 AM : Oct 07, 2008

Here, Here. I am deeply sorry for the parents who have lost their children in tragic accidents, however, aside from setting an age limit(which I think is fair) the government should have no hand in teaching our children to drive. Before you start in on me, yes yes I know this article is only about a key that limits speed and stuff. As it is I am totally for this technology as an option for parents and I plan to use it with my own kids, but I guarantee you that there are crazy groups out there(MADD) who will want to make it law that for a certain time period after you get your license you must use these keys. Just like in the first post where momalso talks about supporting the GDL laws. It doesn''t matter how many laws you put into place, accidents will still happen. Maybe we should start making cars out of pillows, or maybe we should only allow a certain number of cars on the road. Honestly Its starting to seem that so many laws are being put into place so the state can make some money off of the all the tickets handed out.

[avenger09123]

Hey I agree, kids today, are over coddled, over protected, and overweight. Adding restrictions like this are reasonable in my opinion, but the kids need not know about it, not to mention kids today such as the young lady interviewed saying "we''ll never learn if they''re holding our hands," fails to realize that kids make dumb choices, MOMALSO losing her son in a drag was was unfortunate, but also his choice to stay in the car and the other guy''s choice to race, don''t play the pity our children card, if your teenager doesn''t have the moral fortitude to stand up for himself and know the difference between right and wrong and life and death, he deserves to ride the edge and find it, if he goes over, so be it, it was his choice.

[pieces414]

Okay...I''m a 17 year old driver and to me this has both ups and downs. I like to think of myself as a good driver, I haven''t gotten a ticket...and haven''t been the cause of any or been involved in any wrecks and i''ve been driving for almost two years now. However, I play witness every day to stupid teenagers endangering other lives after leaving the highschool. Things like how you drive is the job of the PARENTS to teach. If the parents aren''t doing their jobs right the only person to blame for wrecks and teenagers speeding are the parents themselves. @momalso...I feel bad for you...it stinks that your son died... But perhaps you should have taught him better values than getting in the car with someone whose going to drag.

[tipsyinct]

perhaps you should have taught him better values than getting in the car with someone whose going to drag.
Posted by Pieces414 at 01:11 PM : Oct 08, 2008

That is the most hurtful comment I have ever read on this board. You show your age and inexperience kid.

All I was saying earlier is that this key is a great idea as long as it isn''t made mandatory. You can''t make laws based on personal mistakes.