Ford feature will let parents set limits for teens

http://www.itworld.com/node/55679

Discuss... or not.

What about track days? I don't like it. Then again, 67% of my age group doesn't like it.

Having driven Ford products for 40 years I think this means my next new car will be some other brand.

Psh, I was in many (self induced) situations as a teen driver that could have resulted in bad things happening and my first car couldn't hit 80mph falling off a cliff.

...but I also thought I was Colin McRae and therefore, drove like him.

I've got to say, the excuses some of those youth give are pretty weak...

The article said: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.

Also, I think that the money Ford spent on that technology could have been better spent sending teens to HPDE events. Speed may be a factor in teen accidents but I think a bigger factor is the lack of time behind the wheel.

The limitations are tied to a chip in the key. Sounds like individual keys have individual chips. Unless I'm mistaken, most car keys these days have chips in them as theft prevention.

If you are the son of parents who run the finest car magazine in the nation, and you're going to be taking the car to a track day, just have them give you a different key for the event.

If your kid went off to college, you'd probably need to spend $150 or something for a new key for them with an unrestricted chip.

These actions don't make me that wary. They're just working with systems that already exist in cars, and they are not monitoring and reporting activity.

I would prefer this system over one that uses GPS tracking to monitor everywhere l'il Timmy (not Tommy, cause he's cool) takes the family sedan and reports their location and speed to the parents laptop. This just sets reasonable boundaries for the kid to operate in.

I recall the Corvette ZR-1 had a 'valet key', which would reduce the engine output from 400hp to 200hp or something like that.

I think it's a great idea!

You aren't talking any very intrusive limitations, just common sense requirements.

My kids would have gotten the car more often if those types of controls had been available.

make all cars suzuki sc200 whizzkids and you won't have to worry about your teen going faster then 85. seams like the answer to teen driving, cheap cars, gas prices, and lightend awesome is kei cars! and not the smart.

I think better driving programs for teens would be a much better results and would cost much less.

Salanis wrote: I would prefer this system over one that uses GPS tracking to monitor everywhere l'il Timmy (not Tommy, cause he's cool) takes the family sedan and reports their location and speed to the parents laptop. This just sets reasonable boundaries for the kid to operate in.

That is already available through their cell phones.

Sound's like it might be parent programable:

Parents also have the option of programming the teen's key

I like it.

Osterkraut wrote: I've got to say, the excuses some of those youth give are pretty weak...

If a sixteen year old needs to accelerate past 80 to avoid something, then chances are he or she is just going to hit something else going a little faster.

Hal wrote: Having driven Ford products for 40 years I think this means my next new car will be some other brand.

Why??? It's not like you are going to end up with this key. It's a TOOL that parents can chosse to use or not. Just adding a cheap safety feature is a reason to not buy anymore products? Illogical.

Tommy- for track days, your dad can give you the proper key.

As for the cost of this technology- I think a lot of you are reading WAY too much into it. All car keys are ID's by the vehicle, just to allow the vehicle to start. This one key has an ID that just limits the engine to some real basic parameters. The cost is merely the cost of the key. Nowhere close to a lapping day.

And outside of this board, how many parents really would want their kids at a lapping day? I doubt many.

Remember, it's a TOOL. To help protect two investments, the car, and the kid.

Eric

Without the ability to hit 88 mph how can I get home before midnight.

I don't like it. And I am only 18, so obviously I won't like it. But in 2.5 years of driving (A lot of highway miles alone for someone my age), I think I've only been above 80 maybe 4 times when I wasn't keeping up with traffic. I guess that that could mean that I wouldn't mind it... but still, I don't like the idea.

I'm currently on my second car that can't exceed 80 mph and it really isn't a big deal. I personally see no problem with limiting inexperienced drivers to 80mph. Like it was said before, it isn't like the kid's parents are tracking their every movement so they can still get into plenty of trouble, just not at 80+. What I don't understand is why the key limits the stereo volume to 44%. Why would it matter how loudly their kids listen to music? If the money used to create this new key was put towards better driving instruction for teens I'd be all for it but we all know that wouldn't happen.

thatsnowinnebago wrote: I'm currently on my second car that can't exceed 80 mph and it really isn't a big deal. I personally see no problem with limiting inexperienced drivers to 80mph. Like it was said before, it isn't like the kid's parents are tracking their every movement so they can still get into plenty of trouble, just not at 80+. What I don't understand is why the key limits the stereo volume to 44%. Why would it matter how loudly their kids listen to music? If the money used to create this new key was put towards better driving instruction for teens I'd be all for it but we all know that wouldn't happen.

I actually like the music part of it... I don't like loud music very often, and I think it really does inhibit your driving.

I might go for it if it also limited engine RPM to make for short shifts and adjusted the drive-by-wire such that pedal on the floor max acceleration is about 1/2 of what max normally is. Then when I loan my car to someone I know they're not going to pop the motor anyway.

It would also be cool, IMHO, if it lit up a big 4" yellow LED stripe all the way around the car, think NAS-CR@P rookie style but down the sides and across the front too, so the car would be as embarasing to drive as possible. Extra visibility would be the safety excuse, but the real reason would be so tha I know where the bad drivers are and can avoid them more easily.

I thought this kind of thing would have been great even when I was 16. I still think so now.

Go Ford!

And the keys need to be bright yellow so no one switches them. Nick

oldopelguy wrote: I might go for it if it also limited engine RPM to make for short shifts and adjusted the drive-by-wire such that pedal on the floor max acceleration is about 1/2 of what max normally is. Then when I loan my car to someone I know they're not going to pop the motor anyway.

This is the worst idea yet. On some on ramps around here, I have ~500 feet to merge with 70MPH traffic from a standstill. Thats why my dad passed up a 240D as my brothers first car. It would be a great idea in lots of places, but not here in Chicagoland.

I think is a good idea except for on the interstate. If you have ever been on I-40 around Nashville, you will know that if you aren't going at least 80mph you are road kill.

But see, I also think maybe kids shouldn't even be on the interstate, and that's the reason for the 4" wide day-glow yellow stripe. I'd even turn on something that drops 5hp off the engine for every mile they get away from their normal route to/from school or whatever.

Both hands not on the wheel for >10 sec, drop a few HP and mph. Seat belt not buckled on every passenger, car won't start. Someone in the back seat, 55mph top speed.

I'm fine with limiting kids driving. All the parent has to do when it's no longer appropriate is give them a regular key. In fact, maybe there should be a 35mph "punishment" key too, for when they mess something up. That would at least get their attention.