Title: Ford introducing parental control
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Blog Entry: www.itsinternational.com/news/article.cfm?recordID=14016 Ford introducing parental control Ford Motor Company is introducing MyKey, designed to help parents encourage their teenagers to drive safer and more fuel efficiently, and increase safety-belt usage. The new feature, which debuts next year as standard equipment on the 2010 Ford Focus and will quickly become standard on many other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, allows owners to programme a key that can limit the vehicle’s top speed and audio volume. MyKey also encourages safety-belt usage, provides earlier low-fuel warnings and can be programmed to sound chimes at 45, 55 and 65 mph. The MyKey system allows the parent to programme any key through the vehicle message center, which updates the SecuriLock passive anti-theft system. When the MyKey is inserted into the ignition, the system reads the transponder chip in the key and immediately identifies the MyKey code, which enables certain default driving modes, including: * Persistent Ford Beltminder with audio mute. This system typically provides a six-second reminder chime every minute for five minutes. With MyKey, the Beltminder chime continues at the regular interval and the audio system is muted until the safety belt is buckled. A message centre display “Buckle Up to Unmute Radio” also appears on the instrument cluster. * Earlier low-fuel warning. Rather than a warning at 50 miles to empty, MyKey provides a warning at 75 miles to empty. * If MyKey is in the ignition, features such as Park Aid and BLISTM (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert cannot be deactivated. Additional MyKey features that can be programmed through the vehicle’s message centre setup menu: * Limited top speed of 80 mph * Traction control system, that limits tyre spin, cannot be deactivated * Limited audio volume to 44 per cent of total volume * A speed alert chime at 45, 55 or 65 mph Using MyKey to teach teens to avoid speeding can provide an added benefit – improved fuel economy. Ford research shows that driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph consumes 15 per cent less fuel, and mastering other eco-driving habits such as avoiding jackrabbit starts and excessive idling can help improve fuel economy by more than 50 per cent. “MyKey can help promote safer driving, particularly among teens, by encouraging seat belt use, limiting speed and reducing distractions,” said Susan Cischke, Ford group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. MyKey is appealing to parents of teen drivers, including 75 per cent who like the speed-limiting feature, 72 per cent who like the more insistent safety-belt reminder, and 63 per cent who like the audio limit feature, according to a recent Harris Interactive Survey conducted for Ford. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), teens are more likely to take risks such as speeding – a contributing factor in 30 per cent of all fatal crashes. Teens also are less likely to wear safety belts than older drivers. Teens surveyed by Harris said they are largely open to MyKey if it means they will have more freedom to drive. Initially, 67 per cent of teens polled said they wouldn’t want MyKey features. However, if using MyKey would lead to greater driving privileges, only 36 per cent would object to the technology. “We’ve upgraded an existing, proven technology – the SecuriLock passive anti-theft system – with some simple software upgrades to develop a new unique feature that we believe will resonate with customers,” said Jim Buczkowski, director, Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering – the same team that developed SYNC in partnership with Microsoft. “We also developed MyKey’s functions in such a way to quickly spread it across multiple vehicle lines, giving us the ability to go mass market in the spirit of other Ford innovations such as safety belts, stability control and SYNC.”
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