Ford MyKey lets parents control their kids' driving habits
By Donald Melanson 
posted October 6th 2008 2:47PM
posted October 6th 2008 2:47PM
There's not exactly a shortage of options out there for parents that want to keep watch on their kids' driving, but Ford looks to be taking things a bit further than most with its new MyKey system, and it's making it standard issue, no less. Set to debut in the 2010 Focus Coupe and plenty of other Ford vehicles shortly thereafter, the key-based system will let parents limit their car's top driving speed to 80 miles per hour, cut off the stereo's volume at just 44% of its max output, and set a persistent chime to go off if the seatbelts aren't being used (the stereo also gets muted until everyone buckles up). As if that wasn't enough, it'll also provide a low-fuel warning at 75 miles to empty, start issuing a surely annoying reminder as the driver inches up past the 45 mph mark, and make it impossible to disable some of the Focus' usual safety measures like Park Aid and Cross Traffic Alert. Also not able to be disabled: your kid's resentment.
Right, well I've had a job for almost 4 years now and I haven't had a single week since I got a car when I didn't have a job to go back to. Without a car I do not believe I would be responsible as I am now. I'm paying my way through college and pay for everything, minus the roof over my head. I am all for personal responsibility, I think that's the issue with the economic crisis that we are entangled in today. Not enough personal responsibility. I digress. If you go 80 miles an hour-anywhere and a cop clocks you, you can and most likely get a ticket. They're not being limited to 65 or 55. Last year a guy in my class (Senior in HS) was going 90 in a 35 and hit a tree. Horribly unwise. He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected into another tree. Now, who's to say that extra 10 miles an hour wouldnt have saved him or the constant reminder of your seat belt. Granted I know this wont work all the time but for the handful of irresponsible kids that parents feel need to have a car this is great. I know if I thought my kid was irresponsible I would want to give him a chance but don't want to give him too much leeway. I think this is appropriate.
It's not about whether or not kids should be trusted. It's about keeping kids alive.
Young people have a lot less sense of mortality than older people. That's just the way it is. So many young people will make choices which aren't in their best interest pertaining to safety because they don't see what they are doing as wrong or risky. I was that way and so were or are many of you.
If parents want this technology for their cars I say go for it.
Yeah - would would actually wan to make sure their kids buckle up? Since when is wearing a seat belt an infringement on being a kid?
Parents can talk till their blue in the face. Having some basic safety features included is common sense.
It's a decent idea in concept, but....
- 80MPH is still speeding almost anywhere, and is pretty damned fast. I'm a pretty fast driver and don't crack 80 all that often.
- Pretty much every modern car has an annoying chime reminding you to buckle your seat belt incessantly.
If a kid is intent on going fast an annoying chime reminding him that he is doing so isn't going to change a damned thing. I know people love to be on their high horse about this one and pretend it's "for the children (TM)" but it's a useless measure that will serve to do essentially nothing.
You can adjust the settings to be lower using the Information Center in the car.
Kids do stupid stuff sometimes no matter how well you raised them, especially when they are around other kids. I see nothing wrong with this other than the beeps above 45 MPH... that seems excessive.
Yes!! Because the average parent would buy their child a brand new ford.
I guess common sense is a virtue these days...
Coming from a 22 year old speaking from personal experience, I can admit I did some stupid stuff in my car when I was a teenager. I was never a bad kid nor was I untrustworthy but I made some poor choices when it came to speeding. Luckily, nothing more than a speeding ticket ever came from it.
I applaud Ford for their efforts trying to take a proactive stance at attempting to make driving a bit safer for teenagers. Does this mean that the technology is the perfect solution, no, but I can tell you it’s a great idea and definitely a step in the right direction. Even if it saves one persons life, I say it’s worth doing.
And for all of you people running your ignorant mouths saying how bad this is, why don’t you think about your own friends and families and think how bad it would be if you lost them….
See the funny thing is, as a teen driver this would really really annoy me, especially driving home from work on the highway, where If you're going only 70-80 you're going slower than EVERYONE else down here in Florida. Either way this will either work great, or kids will end up buying their own cars and the technology will die out. I have a feeling it will die out
It's Ford, it's bound to die out.
I can't think of any teenager I know that would ask their parents for a Ford that isn't a Mustang (and they'd get laughed at if they asked for a Mustang). There are other cars out there that are cheaper, which generally parents are drawn to for their children or children choose to purchase for themselves.
I own a 2002 mustang GT
:(
It was awesome when I bought it, I felt so sick for buying my own car, now I realize that i should have rode the bus, its cheaper
Great idea now if you can take away the gamers PCs the world would be a better place.
You're just a fucking idiot.
You're just a fu*king idiot if you ask me.
Good ol' comment system, thought they fixed it...
I remember the day when kids were allowed to make their own decisions, and parents were there to help them learn about life, not seal them in a padded room with a padded stuffed animal to play with. I really hope that when I have kids I give them the enough respect to make them feel like a human, not a pet.
Ford Parental Control 2.0: Be at peace knowing that your child is safe in the new Ford Focus. The Focus gently induces a coma and the unruly teenager remains in the driveway where he/she is safe and secure. Also available: automatic saran wrap and removal for the backseat and a flashing logo reading: Abstinence is effective 100% of the time.
I totally agree with this idea, and I'm 17. Not that I would get any chance of driving my parents though, hell I've got more change of becoming a millionaire in the next few minutes.
I can't find a bad point about it?
That's rly obnoxious that the low fuel light would go on @ 75 miles remaining. That would drive me nuts. It already goes on w/ 50 miles left which is very generous as is.
But it's a good idea for those overprotective parents who want to rule their children's lives.
What kind of stupid parent BUYS their kid a car anyway..
Just refuse to pay their insurance or for the lessons or for the car or for anything to do with it, that puts most kids off.
You can get this car, or do what my parents did and buy your kids a used Geo Metro. That thing wouldn't go 80 unless you were gunning it going down the canyon, and the radio was so crappy you didn't want to turn it up. I actually wish I would've kept it, it's probably worth more now than it was 10 years ago!
Call me crazy, but...shouldn't Ford be more concerned right now with things like making fuel efficient vehicles people want to purchase, rather than making fancy keys to piss people off? This is just another example of the misplaced focus of the American automakers.
Meh.
Still a Ford.
It's a mixed bag. Yes, it's a good idea but hoenstly, my only problem would be the parents getting this on their cars without even giving the kid a chance to show that they're trustworthy. I had parents that didn't trust automatically, and it was a real pain in the ass and made me feel like shit, so I guess I kind of have a personal vendetta against something like this made standard in the cars.
However, I will say that this eliminates the 'big brother' feeling from parents installing black boxes in their kids cars, and my loud volume stereo still distracts me so the limit will be a nice feature to have as far as less distractions go, but if your kid needs a damn alarm to tell them they're going over 45 MPH, they probably shouldn't be driving.
excellent idea for my eventual children. horrifying idea for me. i would seriously look into this if it was on toyota vehicles.
It is not an issue of trust, it is the issue of experience.
On a separate note, it is refreshing to see some actual INNOVATION from FORD!
"If you're concerned about your child's responsibility driving a 20k car, then buy them a $500 car. It's not their fault you raised them to be irresponsible..."
or just don't lend them your car. Make them earn the money to buy their own, insure their own and tax their own. It is amazing how much more quickly responsibility can be learned when it is you who pays for ignoring it.
If you feel the need to put this in your childs car, you may as well stamp 'I Failed as a Parent' on your own forehead. If you don't trust your childen, why would you let them drive a couple of tons of metal and glass around in the first place?? Get a grip.
Slippery slope, folks.
Just like smoking bans for teenagers, now nobody can smoke in any establishment (in most of the USofA, anyway).
Mark my words, congress will mandate this as the technology develops.
I don't smoke, but I feel the government should have no say in this.
You'll see.
True, once the congressmen and senators get wind that this is possible...
But I guess it's unavoidable anyway as more and more electronics take over the control of the car it just naturally progresses to someone taking control of those electronics
Personal freedom is on a decades long decline and it's a steady one that seems unstoppable simply because people forgot the whole concept that they can oppose things.
Probably needs to be said again that the answer is to teach your kid how to drive. Driving school, racing school, all of it. Make your kid a better driver and you won't need draconian safeguards like these.
Zak! Yikes. No apple trolling here?
Voting Zak up.
Bloody hell, common values!
Yes!
The biggest problem is that most drivers think they are above average, and teen drivers often think they are invincible! Racing/performance driving school can fix that because it teaches you that, no matter how good you thought you were, you could be better!
You forgot boozing school and sex school in your list.
Finally someone did it! Better safe than sorry!
This is a great idea, but why 80mph? why not 70 or even 65. Heck there doesnt seem to be a limit of 70 anyways. 80mph in a 30 zone is more dangerous than 80 on the freeway. But I guess this techonolgy is better than nothing and it's great to see ford take the first step. Than again if I had kids I can get them an old Fiat 500 or just a scooter, good luck hitting 80 on those...
Freeways here in Washington are 70
Teenagers are smart. They'll find ways to get around this.
One call to customer service will probably be all it takes to disable/workaround these 'features'.
Since the key is the problem, they might even try to hotwire their own cars.
It is a very good idea. I think everyone is missing a point here. It is an option that parent can choose, but doesn't have to implement.
We all know that we are much smarter and mature now that we were few years back, and if that doesn't hold true for you then you should not have any business posting any comments here.
I know adults that are reckless, so do not even get me started on kids. Also keep in mind the system will not be designed to start making crazy noises when kids begin to approach unsafe speeds, only slowly build up. Also have you ever tried to buckle your seat belt and then sit in that seat (no comfortable at all).
I think that this is an interesting idea and it should be customizable by parents to fit their kids.
It's probably a good idea but not a practical one. Where to kids drive to? Schools/universities, malls, downtown. Highway trips are not as frequent as daily commute. Within any city the limits are well below 80, and driving at 60 in a 40 mph zone is still a significant risk to everyone involved. Limit the volume? Don't ipods come with ear buds? That's probably worse than a booming stereo.
And all this, assuming the parent has a high ground on good driving. I live in a university town and drive to an industrial district for work, and most of the crashes I see are due to people on cell phones or jerks in 4x4s speeding on frozen roads. Don't even get me started on the idiotic executives prettying up themselves up in the rear mirror ON THE HIGHWAY.
Also, if you're like most kids in America (leaving out the teenage popstars and rich kids from Cali), your first car is probably your dad/mom's hand me down that's already 7 years old and seen 50k miles. So is Ford looking to get their genius app get used in 2020? Won't we have solar powered flying cars by then? ;)
I'm from California.. yet I'm not a rich kid... damn not everyone in southern california is rich, especially these days. And the OC as a tv show might be ok but it's a horrible representation of the socioeconomic status of my entire county. Sorry it's just I hate being lumped in with the rest of these californians, lol.
gee, if they'd just taken all this misplaced effort into making their fleet all-paranoid and put it into making their fleet all-electric, then they wouldn't be able to go faster than 80mph anyway.
I am someone who this could be used for and, frankly, I wouldn't mind. I don't need to go above 80, I believe that seat belts are important, and I don't listen to the stereo so loud that it hurts my ears. Maybe I'm just weird that way, though.
I am ALL FOR THIS! I speed and listen to my music waayyy too loud. Not a bad idea for some of us adults :P
Just do what my parents have done, refuse to pay insurance.
I've held my license for 2 years now, not a single incident. Mainly since I've not driven since I passed my test - London's impossible to drive in as well as being ridiculously expensive.
@anodynewake
Like respect, trust is something that must be earned.
If parents need all this gadgetry to make sure their kids stay out of trouble, then those parents are utter failures in my book and I was a teenager just a few years ago, now 25.
The car I drove as a teenager had all these features thirty years ago! It was called the Volkswagon Beetle. Topped out at about 70. Going downhill. Above 60 it would start to shake. It had no stereo; just an AM radio that barely worked.