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Ford cars get draconian parental controls

Speed capped, wheelspin nixed, shock-jock radio stifled

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Teenagers will soon find radio shock jocks off the listings, along with loud music, speeding of any kind and wheel spins too – if Dad upgrades to Ford's MyKey system that is.

MyKey works with the MyFord Touch system, a standard feature on many US models which can already lock on the traction control and limit the stereo volume to protect a child's delicate hearing. Now the beloved first-born* can have his top speed capped, and isn't even allowed to listen to "explicit" radio stations, which should remove any remaining vestige of street credibility.

Kids will have to wear seatbelts too, or face a journey in silence as the radio cuts out entirely if belts aren't worn. Mum and Dad are allowed to fly through the windscreen to an accompanying soundtrack as usual, if the air bags don't catch 'em.

The MyKey technology is based on the transceiver already built into many key fobs – used to immobilise cars if the ignition key is bypassed. The fob is already used by some cars to adjust seats and mirrors to pre-programmed settings for that driver; My[First]Key just allows a parent to make those settings on behalf of their children, and will come as standard on the higher-end (US) Fords next year.

According to Ford, 60 per cent of (American) parents want to be able to block explicit radio stations (around a dozen of the several-hundred stations provided by Sirius satellite radio), while 85 per cent of them approved of speed-capping and 45 per cent of their kids even liked the idea – "if it meant the possibility of additional driving privileges".

One might argue that better parenting and some trust would work as effectively as any technology, and that might be true with speeding and wheel-spinning, but surely some freedoms are worth sacrificing to protect children from the worst excesses of US radio jockeys. ®

* Following children are never as coddled as the first-born, anyone with more than one kid will confirm that.

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

The opposite please!

Sorry but the quicker the local boy-racers scream off up the bypass and stack it at 75mph, hopefully only taking themselves out of the gene pool, the better!

We all do stupid things when we're kids, but driving is not a video game. There is no restart option, there is no push A+X to reset when the car gets wedged up the side of the crash barrier, there is only real, innocent bloodshed when things fuck-up.

Sick of reading stuff in the paper, "Johnny was a good lad, he never did anything wrong, he would never hurt anyone and now his brains are smeared up the A12 to Southend.". Sorry but Johnny didn't spot the 30mph signs, slow down, instead he carried on at 65mph thinking him and his mates, who most likely didn't wear seatbelts, were invincible. Sorry for your loss, but some things in life don't have a second chance to make a fateful mistake.

Don't get me started on drinking a little and driving home like certain f**king stupid members of my family, NO DRINK IF YOU WANT TO DRIVE! Simple! No, not a half or a snifter! NO DRINK!

Mobile phones? Arghh......*calm down"...*breath in the love, breath out the hate*....

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RE: "Make him buy his car AND pay for the insurance for it "

Joke Alert misplaced.

This is how it was in my childhood. My banger, bought with my money -my parents made sure I spend a minimum amount of free time and the occasional week or two during holidays earning it myself with carrying newspapers or taking summer jobs. My responsibility - didn't have to ask if I can paint it, strip pit or burn it (although I never would have). And yes, it didn't have the power to speed much, but it was MINE! :-D

And that is exactly how i will handle I when my youngsters grow to that age. I _maybe_ might sponsor their first banger a bit if I see they make an honest effort, but if I can't trust them by then to be responsible enough not to hurt themselves and others, plus won't have the cool to turn half a blind eye to that little craziness we all were entitled to at that age...

... I will have to admit to have utterly failed as a parent and return my parenting permit.

No extra child restraining technology should be needed here for anyone, really, if they did their job.

11
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That's not what you want

If you limit them to 20mph then they just take longer to drive past your house.

Instead make the cars drive at 100mph into the nearest tree...

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