 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
New key lets parents put brakes on teen drivers
Washington (AFP) Oct 7, 2008 Talk about a back-seat driver! Ford Motor Co. has created a device which allows parents to control how fast their teenagers drive, limits the volume on the car radio and makes sure their seat belts are fastened. It's called "MyKey," and Ford announced this week that it will be a standard feature starting next year on the 2010 Ford Focus and other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models. Ford said MyKey is "designed to help parents encourage their teenagers to drive safer and more fuel efficiently, and increase safety-belt usage." It said the key can be programmed to limit the car's top speed, sounding chimes at 45 miles per hour (73 kph), 55 mph (89 kph) and 65 mph (105 kph). The car's top speed can be restricted to 80 mph (130 kph). Another feature disables the car's audio system until seat belts are fastened or limits audio volume to 44 percent of total volume. "MyKey can help promote safer driving, particularly among teens, by encouraging seat belt use, limiting speed and reducing distractions," said Susan Cischke, a Ford group vice president. Ford said a survey conducted for the automaker by Harris Interactive found that 50 percent of the parents of teen drivers said they would allow their children to use the family car more often if it was equipped with MyKey. Ford said the key is programmed through its vehicle message center, which also controls the anti-theft system. When MyKey is inserted into the ignition, the system reads the transponder chip in the key, identifies the pre-programmed code and enables the selected driving modes. If MyKey isn't enough for anxious parents, Global Positioning System devices have been on the market for some time which allow parents to monitor the every move of their teen-age driver. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Car Technology at SpaceMart.com
Mitsubishi Motors developing plug-in hybrids: president
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 6, 2008Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which is preparing to launch one of the world's first commercial electric cars, said Monday it was also working on plug-in hybrids. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook