- MyKey(TM), another innovation from the company that introduced SYNC(R), allows parents to limit speed and audio volume to encourage teens to drive safer and improve fuel efficiency. - Harris Interactive Survey shows that many parents would allow teens to drive more often if their vehicle was equipped with MyKey - helping young drivers build road safety experience.
DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ford Motor Company
(NYSE: F) is introducing an innovative new technology -- called MyKey --
designed to help parents encourage their teen-agers to drive safer and more
fuel efficiently, and increase safety-belt usage.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081006/CLM019 )
Ford's MyKey feature -- which debuts next year as standard equipment on
the 2010 Ford Focus and will quickly become standard on many other Ford,
Lincoln and Mercury models -- allows owners to program a key that can limit
the vehicle's top speed and audio volume. MyKey also encourages safety-belt
usage, provides earlier low-fuel warnings and can be programmed to sound
chimes at 45, 55 and 65 miles per hour.
"Ford not only offers industry-leading crash protection and crash
avoidance systems, we also are committed to developing new technologies such
as MyKey that encourage safer driving behavior," said Susan Cischke, Ford
group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering.
"MyKey can help promote safer driving, particularly among teens, by
encouraging seat belt use, limiting speed and reducing distractions."
MyKey is appealing to parents of teen drivers, including 75 percent who
like the speed-limiting feature, 72 percent who like the more insistent
safety-belt reminder, and 63 percent who like the audio limit feature,
according to a recent Harris Interactive Survey conducted for Ford.
About 50 percent of those who would consider purchasing MyKey also said
they would allow their children to use the family vehicle more often if it
were equipped with the new technology. The added seat time can help teens
build their driving skills in a more controlled setting, complementing
graduated licensing laws that give young drivers more driving freedom as they
get older.
More than half of parents surveyed worry that their teen-age children are
driving at unsafe speeds, talking on hand-held cell phones or texting while
driving, or otherwise driving distracted. More than a third of parents also
are concerned that their teens do not always buckle their safety belts when
driving.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
teens are more likely to take risks such as speeding -- a contributing factor
in 30 percent of all fatal crashes. Teens also are less likely to wear safety
belts than older drivers.
Teens surveyed by Harris said they are largely open to MyKey if it means
they will have more freedom to drive. Initially, 67 percent of teens polled
said they wouldn't want MyKey features. However, if using MyKey would lead to
greater driving privileges, only 36 percent would object to the technology.
"We've upgraded an existing, proven technology -- the SecuriLock passive
anti-theft system -- with some simple software upgrades to develop a new
unique feature that we believe will resonate with customers," said Jim
Buczkowski, director, Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering -- the
same team that developed SYNC in partnership with Microsoft. "We also
developed MyKey's functions in such a way to quickly spread it across multiple
vehicle lines, giving us the ability to go mass market in the spirit of other
Ford innovations such as safety belts, stability control and SYNC."
Holding the key
The MyKey system allows the parent to program any key through the vehicle
message center, which updates the SecuriLock(TM) passive anti-theft system.
When the MyKey is inserted into the ignition, the system reads the transponder
chip in the key and immediately identifies the MyKey code, which enables
certain default driving modes, including:
-- Persistent Ford Beltminder(TM) with audio mute. Ford's Beltminder
system typically provides a six-second reminder chime every minute for five
minutes. With MyKey, the Beltminder chime continues at the regular interval
and the audio system is muted until the safety belt is buckled. A message
center display "Buckle Up to Unmute Radio" also appears on the instrument
cluster.
-- Earlier low-fuel warning. Rather than a warning at 50 miles to empty,
MyKey provides a warning at 75 miles to empty.
-- If MyKey is in the ignition, features such as Park Aid and BLIS(TM)
(Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert cannot be
deactivated.
Additional MyKey features that can be programmed through the vehicle's
message center setup menu:
-- Limited top speed of 80 mph
-- Traction control system, that limits tire spin, cannot be deactivated
-- Limited audio volume to 44 percent of total volume
-- A speed alert chime at 45, 55 or 65 mph
Using MyKey to teach teens to avoid speeding can provide an added benefit
-- improved fuel economy. Ford research shows that driving 55 mph instead of
65 mph consumes 15 percent less fuel, and mastering other eco-driving habits
such as avoiding jackrabbit starts and excessive idling can help improve fuel
economy by more than 50 percent.
Safety is the key
MyKey is just one way that Ford is helping teens drive more safely. Ford
Motor Company Fund's Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program helps young
motorists master four critical driving skills -- hazard recognition, vehicle
handling, space management, and speed management -- that help address the
majority of dangerous driving conditions. More than 3,000 teens have
participated in DSFL ride-and-drive events. And more than 500,000 people have
used the training course since 2003 on www.drivingskillsforlife.com.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn,
Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With
about 229,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's core and
affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda.
The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company.
For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com
About the Harris Interactive Survey
The survey of 347 parents of teen-age children was conducted online within
the U.S. by Harris Interactive from Aug. 1-5. The survey of 249 teen-age
drivers was conducted online within the U.S. on behalf of Ford from Sept.
17-22. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full
methodology is available.
SOURCE Ford Motor Company
