MyKey may be your key to teen safety

Tag : Auto Ignition System

Start your Ford Focus with MyKey, and the top speed can beprogrammed not to exceed 80 mph.

Low-fuel warnings sound with 75 miles left before empty, instead ofthe usual 50 miles. Chimes can sound when speed exceeds 45, 55 or65 mph. The traction-control system, which limits tire spin, can nolonger be deactivated at the touch of a button.

And my two favorites: Audio sound can be limited to 44 percent ofthe maximum volume. And the Beltminder "buckle seat belt" reminderusually just chimes for six seconds every minute: With MyKey, thesystem chimes as usual, but the sound system is muted until thebelts are buckled. It says so on the car's dashboard messagecenter: "Buckle up to unmute radio."

"We found plenty of evidence supporting the need for thistechnology," said Andy Sarkisian, Ford's safety manager. "Seat-beltusage is the lowest among teenagers, yet seat belts are the No. 1lifesaving device in accidents. So we are turning up the Beltmindersystem's annoyance factor a bit."

The MyKey limitations apply to those starting the car with thatparticular key. Parents can drive the same car, using their ownkey, and are free from the restrictions -- though they are allpretty good ideas.

And since MyKey is essentially a simple, inexpensive softwareapplication, it makes sense to migrate it across the Ford andLincoln-Mercury line. Parents might not be as reticent aboutletting their teens drive the family Ford Shelby Cobra Mustang, forinstance, if they know it can't be driven over 80 mph.

Young drivers must consider MyKey as just one of a lot of limitingtechnologies that are either coming or already here.

One that has already arrived is Zoombak, which usessatellite-linked Global Positioning System (GPS) and cellulartechnology to monitor the vehicle it is installed in. Parents can,for example, be alerted when the vehicle strays outside pre-set"safety zones." It can pinpoint the car's location on a map everyfive minutes, and users can review where the car has traveled forthe previous seven days. Zoombak is sold at discount stores: Thelist price is $249.95, and annual service is as low as $144.99 ifyou pay upfront.

I haven't seen any surveys, but I'm guessing teens don't much likethat technology, either.

The only real bright spot here for teens -- other than possiblyliving longer -- is that when Ford asked those surveyed how theywould feel about MyKey if it allowed them greater access to thefamily vehicle, 24 percent decided they would "like" the systemthen, up from the aforementioned 3 percent.

Get used to it, kids.


Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith can be reached atscsmith@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5699.