The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgames

EARTHDATE: January 23, 2011

Official News page 7


REAL LIFE NEWS: FORD CARS TO CONTROL TEEN DRIVERS

by Hazed

Parents who worry about their offspring getting into trouble when taking the family car out for a spin will soon have new tools to help them. Ford is upgrading its MyKey system to include parental controls.

Many US models of Ford car come with the MyFord Touch system, and MyKey works with it. Touch can already lock on the traction control and limit the stereo volume. Now the top speed can be capped, wheel-spins outlawed, and the radio prevented from playing "explicit" radio stations.

Kids will also have to wear seatbelts, or the radio won't work at all. That seems a bit of a feeble response: why not disable the car entirely if the teen doesn't wear his seatbelt?

All this is made possible by the transceiver already built into key fobs. If the car recognizes the key as one belonging to the junior member of the family, the restrictions cut in, thus taking all the fun out of driving.


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