MONTREAL -- Parents who worry that their young teenage driver is heavy on the pedal will soon have a way to keep speeds in check.
Ford Motor Co. has announced it will introduce the MyKey feature, which can also make the seatbelt reminder chime almost incessantly and keep the stereo speakers from blasting too loudly.
The first vehicle to have these new innovations will be the 2010 Ford Focus, launching next year, said Ford of Canada spokeswoman Christine Hollander.
"We've been talking to a lot of parents and we are going to be launching the system to help teens drive safer, conserve fuel and also give parents peace of mind," she said in an interview Monday.
"The system can be programmed to sound chimes at certain speeds to say 'Hey, you need to be slowing down."'
MyKey has a computer chip in the key. The user would have a top speed of just under 130 kilometres an hour (80 miles per hour).
In addition, parents could program the vehicle to sound a chime as the car reaches 72 kilometres an hour, 88 kilometres an hour and 106 kilometres, to alert the driver that he or she is going fast.
Another feature of the system is an early low-fuel warning, which would reduce the chances of a young person being stranded at the side of the road with a fuel gauge on empty.
The motor company also released the findings of a small survey of 347 parents of teenaged children conducted in the United States in early August, and an online survey of 240 teenage drivers in September.
About half of parents who would consider purchasing a car with the technology said they would allow their sons and daughters to use the family car more often if it had MyKey features.
But 67 per cent of teens polled said they wouldn't want such a vehicle in the family.
"So basically the teens were not thrilled by this new technology, but ... if they were to get more driving privileges, only 36 per cent would object to this new technology," said Hollander.
-- The Canadian Press
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