Ford Motor Company has introduced a new smart key called MyKey.  It is an ignition key designed specifically to lower the incidence of teen driver auto accidents.

MyKey is a safety feature that will be included as a standard feature on almost all Ford products. These safety features include limiting the top speed, requiring seat belt use and limiting the volume on the car stereo system. 

Ford has given parental control through the use of the “administrator” key.  Using the onboard computer system that is on most of Ford’s vehicles, parents can set the safety parameters for their teen drivers. 

The new features will be availabe on most 2010 models which come out in July and August.  The new features include:

•Speed control limits the top speed of the vehicle to 80 mph, and speed-alert chimes will sound at 45, 55 or 65mph, chosen by the administrator.

•”Insistent belt minder” chimes for six seconds until the seat belts are buckled, a feature in most vehicles. But with MyKey, it also mutes the sound system until everyone buckles up.

•Audio control limits the volume of the sound system to 44 percent of its maximum.

•Traction control, which senses lead-foot acceleration and cuts power to spinning wheels, can usually be turned off at the touch of a button. With MyKey, it can’t.

•Low-fuel warnings typically start at 50 miles from an empty tank. With MyKey, the warning starts at 75.

The top speed of 80 miles per hour may seem high for some parents and setting a lower speed limit may be an option in the future. 

The MyKey may be just what parents need to be to finally keep their teens safe behind the wheel.