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October 27, 2009

Ford demonstrates young driver safety technology

By DAN HEATH
PLATTSBURGH — Ford is touting technology that allows parents to program a car so their children drive more safely.

Ford's MyKey allows a parent to limit a car's top speed and audio volume. It also turns the audio system off when the seat belt is not buckled.

The system delivers earlier low-fuel warnings at 75 miles left, rather than 50. It also tracks how far a young driver has driven the car.

Tyler Partridge, a regional Ford representative for the MyKey program, provided a demonstration Tuesday in Plattsburgh. As he drove in the parking lot at Plattsburgh Ford without his seat belt fastened, the stereo quickly turned off and a message to "buckle up" was displayed.

"Once you buckle up, the radio comes back on automatically," he said, as it did.

With the system activated, the car can't travel above 80 miles per hour. While there were some concerns about limiting speed that might be needed in an emergency, Partridge said, law enforcement and other officials see more danger than possible benefit.

The system can be programmed to provide audio alerts when the driver exceeds 45, 55 or 65 miles per hour, he said, so a parent can choose based on the type of road to be traveled.

It limits the stereo to 44 percent of its maximum volume.

A parent key is used to program the settings that become active when the younger drivers use their own key. Once the system is up, it takes about 30 seconds to adjust the settings, Partridge said.

With a MyKey in the ignition, the driver is unable to disable other Ford protection systems, such as parking assistance, blind-spot detection, cross-traffic detection and traction control.

Traction control prevents a driver from spinning the tires in accelerating from a stop, Partridge said.

That's a nice complement to Ford's Synch technology, which provides a Bluetooth link to the driver's cell phone and audio versions of text messages, he said.

"MyKey allows parents to feel they've created more of a controlled environment for a new driver. Parents are very receptive to it."

The Ford Web site said a Harris Poll revealed 67 percent of teens didn't want the controls imposed. But that dropped to 36 percent if it led to more chances to drive.

Law-enforcement officials have also supported the idea, Partridge said.

Plattsburgh Ford owner Bill Price said MyKey is the latest in the company's many innovations.

"We have great technology up and down the (model) spectrum."

Price said Plattsburgh Ford has offered MyKey for about seven months.

"It has been pretty popular," he said.

MyKey was introduced in the 2010 Ford Focus models earlier this year. Partridge said it is also available on Taurus and Flex models.

E-mail Dan Heath at: dheath@pressrepublican.com

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