Ford To Introduce Restrictive Car Keys For Parents

thesandbender writes "Ford is set to release a management system that will restrict certain aspects of a car's performance based on which key is in the ignition. The speed is limited to 80, you can't turn off traction control, and you can't turn the stereo up to eleven. It's targeted at parents of teenagers and seems like a generally good idea, especially if you get a break on your insurance." The keys will be introduced with the 2010 Focus coupe and will quickly spread to Ford's entire lineup.

Comments

Re:All this sounds nice, but there's another side.

[plasmacutter]

I rarely drive the speed limit in anything but rush hour traffic, but the idea that not being able to go faster than 80 is endangering anybodies life, or especially more people than it's protecting is complete bullshit.

"better 1000 guilty go free than 1 innocent suffer wrongfully"

Someone in a teenager's camp gets injured, they have to rush to a hospital, and there's no address to get an ambulance there.

Let's tell the parents their kid is dead because the other kids parent's were paranoid, authoritarian dickweeds.

Re:All this sounds nice, but there's another side.

[plasmacutter]

Living in Atlanta, driving on 400, 285, and 85 everyday and during rush hour and not on rush hour, at least until 4 weeks ago.

Why yes, I've never had to suddenly increase my speed to avoid an accident. Braking, shifting lanes, and not being in the fast lanes usually keeps me from dying on the more perilous occasions.

Yes, I said that with a straight face.

You're a liar, plain and simple.

(no this is NOT a troll, I live in the same metropolitan area and I have a bridge to sell to anyone who believes this hogwash)

Re:traction control

[plasmacutter]

Actually, no. Traction control will give you the maximum traction possible in snow, so you will not need to rock the car in the first place.

yes, technology is infallible, just ask microsoft.

Re:exactly, GOV DRM backdoored into your car.

[plasmacutter]

Anything distracting the driver is a huge danger

I think we need to get rid of:

AC
windows which open
stereos
adjustable seats
tilt
cruise
GPS
the tach
map lights
that clicking you get from the turn signals
all seats except the driver's seat.

You can't be selective about your distractions if you really believe that.

Re:This will work as well

[philspear]

If the poor kid can't find anything hotter than a playboy, he might be dumb enough to die doing that.

Re:All this sounds nice, but there's another side.

[JustKidding]

How about, if you don't trust your kid to drive responsibly in the first place, don't give them a key at all?

Re:traction control

[poetmatt]

Guaranteed death = hitting concrete at high speeds.

Above 65 if you hit concrete, you're a goner too, or crippled most likely. Please don't let me hear this speed preaching garbage. 65 was forced by the feds (support it or lose our funding) and we all know that the 85/15 rule shows that it's absolute crap. Above 30 straight at concrete can very easily kill, because that's what they test for AND still has rollover warnings. Slow driving (aka disruption of traffic) can and will cause accidents.

If there's one thing I can tell people with highway accidents, it's that hitting another car is safer than hitting concrete. If your choices are concrete or another car, choose another car (say, sideswipes/etc). Concrete is not made to be safe to be hit by cars.

So lighten up francis, people take risks when they drive. We all know that. Being a helicopter parent is not an excuse for those same parents to be ignorant.

Re:Snow tires?

[citylivin]

"rather than spend $300 on a set of snow tires that will last for 5+ winters."

Plus a hundred bucks to have them installed and balanced every year. Unless you buy seperate rims as well and then your not spending 300$ unless you are buying them used.

Trust me, its alot easier (and cheaper) to just SLOW THE FUCK DOWN in winter and drive responsibly. All season tires should be fine as long as the main roads of your city/town are plowed. I learned to drive in 3 feet of snow. The last thing you want to rely on is a crutch like snow tires. What happens when you have to drive a rental without snow tires?