Cars set to get parental controls


Recommended Posts

Cars could soon come with parental controls that limit what younger drivers can do with a vehicle.

Developed by Ford, the MyKey system limits a car's top speed, how loud its stereo can be :huh: and sounds warnings if seatbelts are not being worn.

Ford will introduce the controls on some US makes of car that are due to debut in 2009 but go on sale in 2010.

The Ford Focus will be the first to have MyKey, but the car maker said it would become a standard feature.

The main element of the MyKey system is to limit the top speed of a car to 80mph.

Ford says other options allow parents to limit the volume on the car stereo and make the car sound a continuous alert if drivers and passengers are not wearing a seatbelt.

Other options will let parents decide if warning tones should sound if a car goes faster than 45, 55 or 65 mph.

The car giant said the system built on the ID chips it already used in car keys to hamper car theft.

"It's making use of existing technology, and through the magic of software, we're able to build features on top of the features we already have," sad Jim Buczkowski, Ford's director of electronic and electrical systems engineering.

Ford's compact version of the Focus, which is due to go on sale in 2010, will be the first to sport MyKey. But a spokesman said it would spread to all cars in the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury range as models are updated.

"Research we've done has shown that speeding is a major factor in teen crashes, especially novice teen drivers," Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, told the AP news agency.

"So I think a system that tries to correct the speeding behaviour has the potential to improve safety," she added.

source

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/679004-cars-set-to-get-parental-controls/
Share on other sites

I agree with it.

As long as it doesn't limit acceleration.

But, who the **** buys a new car for their kids first? They're either gonna crash it, and get more massive insurance premiums, or they're not, inc which case they could have saved money with a cheap POS van (which is what I'm getting) and not claiming on ins anyway, if they get a hole in the side. If I crash/dent my van, it's going to look very Mad-Max style when I'm done with it.

"I AM THE ROAD WARRIOR!"

Good idea. Definately.

I know how I used to treat my dads car when I passed my test.. and it's not like I was some loser kid - it's just something you have to get out of your system I think when you're a young man as you don't know what the limits are, and how far you can push it.

On the negative side, with this feature, kids may never get the 'scare' they need to make them drive a bit more responsibly. Mine was locking up the brakes trying to race a friend as we headed down towards a busy junction (no ABS on the car) - skidded what must have been like 50ft before stopping inches from the junction.. needless to say my driving style changed at that point.

i agree with it....

true it should be PART of the solution, like exercise as part of a controlled diet...

If you can afford to buy your kids nice things, then you will.......

not all parents think like that, but alot do....

thats why kids have the ps3 etc, its not really required, but you can afford it and your kids want it

If it drives down the cost of my car insurance im all for it, Ive never sped in a car since ive been driving and yet im still paying ?1000+ on my insurance

i agree with you man ... i like the idea but then again there are pros and cons ... actually i wish they had this when i was a teenager (about 8 years ago) so i could drive the car without being hassled by insurance and parents ... actually they should implement a breathalyzer test ... if you drank , no car for you ...

Parked at an intersection, suddenly the responsible teen sees a truck careening right at them. They stomp on the gas to move out of the way. "I'm sorry Dave, but I can't allow you to do that" says the car, right before the teen is killed in the collision.

Ok maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit but I hate BS like this. This sounds like something for people who suck as parents.

Right, because this will make things safer, riiiiight :rolleyes:

Why is it Ford though? Those who claim that it would be too expensive to build the Euro Focus for their home market in North America? These same guys are spending money which they don't have to make quality cars on technologies that won't make driving that much safer for teens.

Even the most well behaved teen will speed. I'm all for this system really

That's a pretty gross generalization that frankly, I take offence to. I remember being a teenager (not that long ago) and I didn't speed. I don't speed today either; I have no speeding fines because I don't speed.

That being said, I have to a stand against any system that limits driver control. I can understand things like ABS, ESC, and Powered Steering, because they improve driver control (for most drivers anyway), but limiting the speed of the car can have dangerous repurcussions. People need to be taught how to drive, and how to do so responsibly. Education is the key, not restriction.

That's a pretty gross generalization that frankly, I take offence to. I remember being a teenager (not that long ago) and I didn't speed. I don't speed today either; I have no speeding fines because I don't speed.

That being said, I have to a stand against any system that limits driver control. I can understand things like ABS, ESC, and Powered Steering, because they improve driver control (for most drivers anyway), but limiting the speed of the car can have dangerous repurcussions. People need to be taught how to drive, and how to do so responsibly. Education is the key, not restriction.

I'm glad you take offense, but really, quite frankly you are in the vast minority. Limiting the speed to 80 MPH isn't going to limit somebody's learning.

To respond to the idiot who posted the scenario about a kid being at a traffic light and having to accelerate: Seriously, if you're at a stop light you won't need to go up higher than 80MPH, and if they did, they would take too long to get to that speed and would be in an accident anyways. Your scenario is bogus.

It might stop some of the small offenders but for ones who can afford to hot up their car and have a tendency to hoon, this will be a minor distraction which they will easily hack or remove. Plus they are relying on the parents to do the right thing, what about the parents who don't care? Personally this isn't a solution. They should be teaching young people how to drive responsibly, not just how to pass the license test, THAT is the problem. Sure not all young drivers are bad drivers, but it only takes one ******** to ruin it everyone.

How would they implement the seatbelt thing? How can the car tell if there's people in the backseat? I can understand maybe a weight pressure system, but what if they just have boxes or something, heh. I suppose they could just plug in the seatbelt anyway.

How would they implement the seatbelt thing? How can the car tell if there's people in the backseat? I can understand maybe a weight pressure system, but what if they just have boxes or something, heh. I suppose they could just plug in the seatbelt anyway.

Interesting point. Every morning I throw my 15-20 pound backpack (Where like 10 pounds is probably my laptop and AC adapter :x ) into my passenger side seat. The indicator shows that the airbag is off for that side but the seatbelt alarm never comes on. I guess it has something to do with the whole weight thing -- if the airbag is off, the seatbelt warning may be off as well.

Parked at an intersection, suddenly the responsible teen sees a truck careening right at them. They stomp on the gas to move out of the way. "I'm sorry Dave, but I can't allow you to do that" says the car, right before the teen is killed in the collision.

Ok maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit but I hate BS like this. This sounds like something for people who suck as parents.

they are limiting the top speed, not the acceleration.

Bad idea. It's no use saying to a potentially good driver "well, you're only 18, so you can only go at this speed", but then to say to an older person who may frequently drive dangerously that it's okay because he/she is older.

Drivers need to take responsibility for themselves and how they drive. Young or old.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Ford execs say they made a mistake when they replaced human engineers with AI by David Uzondu Ford recently announced that over the last three years, it's had to rehire about 350 "gray beard" engineers to mentor younger staff and reprogram diagnostic systems and AI tools that were failing to meet up to quality expectations. The company's VP of vehicle hardware engineering, Charles **** said that leaders overlooked the deep experience of veterans who survived many product cycles. **** admitted that simply replacing them with AI was a huge mistake, and that while AI is "a fantastic tool," it remains "only as good as the information you use to train it." The rehired engineers now run mandatory meetings to troubleshoot vehicles and reprogram automated engineering software and AI tools to prevent glitches before production. These technical specialists hunt for failure points before a part ever reaches the plant floor. This hands-on process prevents the massive recalls and defects that previously cost the company billions. CEO Jim Farley noted that this return to human oversight quickly decreased warranty coverages and recall costs. The change saves the automaker hundreds of millions of dollars as it aims to cut one billion dollars in expenses this year. In last year's JD Power Quality Survey, an annual study that measures the quality of a car during the first three months of ownership, Ford finished 10th among mainstream brands and scored below the industry average. But this year, JD Power ranked the automaker as the top mainstream brand, placing it above the likes of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ford attributed this massive improvement directly to the expertise of these returned engineers. Ford's realization that AI cannot magically design and test quality vehicles without senior human oversight is just the tip of the iceberg. When Careerminds looked at companies that conducted AI-driven layoffs, researchers found out that 35.6% of those companies had to rehire more than half of the employees they previously fired. Another 32.7% had to rehire between 25% and 50% of them. In 2024, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, proudly announced that its new chatbot was doing the work of 700 full-time customer service agents. As a result, the fintech company froze hiring and cut hundreds of positions. But by mid 2025, and into 2026, Klarna was scrambling to recruit human agents again because customer satisfaction had plummeted. It turns out, while AI is very good at answering basic questions like how to check an account balance, when faced with complex customer issues that require nuance, the thing usually resorts to the unhelpful, robotic corporate jargon we all know and love.
    • Free AI in IDEs is shifting to paid models Or you know, you could just learn to actually design and code apps, use frameworks to handle the repetitive parts and not use AI at all - and voila... free for life!
    • In a sane world US antitrust laws wouldn't even allow these companies to be in the position to be subjected to EU directives. As you say, better than oligarch nothing.
    • Apple reportedly has a second-generation iPhone Fold planned for 2027 Good grief, Apple hasn't even released a first folding phone and the Apple faithful is already obsessing over the sequel? Seriously people, go out and touch grass... because this level of obsession is borderline stalkery/neurotic.
    • I checked on the IPs associated with every login and they're all mine... And whenever I get a new prompt, there is no activity to show for it. 
  • Recent Achievements

    • Enthusiast
      Xonos went up a rank
      Enthusiast
    • Conversation Starter
      Admir earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      The_Focal_Point earned a badge
      First Post
    • Apprentice
      daryld went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Contributor
      Carltonbar went up a rank
      Contributor
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      405
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      169
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      129
    4. 4
      neufuse
      69
    5. 5
      Xenon
      68
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!