Well, Ford has decided to add a new Parental Control to their cars by having a Smart Key with a chip that can limit how fast your teenage daughter/son drives, how loud the stereo is played, and other features that can help your child stay out of trouble.

I think this is a really good idea and it won’t cost the car manufacturer another dime since most of that is already controlled by a car-resident computer.  The only money they will really have to spend is on the chips inside the key but that still should cost less than a quarter per chip as mass production.

I think this is fantasy of movies coming to life as now we are really trying to control how a person drives.  There will be negatives like when you are trying to get away from a serial killer, a 80MPH speed limit won’t help.  But I am sure people will find a way to hack this too, maybe it is pointless for smarter teenagers but we will get the rest of them.

In addition to implementing a speed limit, the key can be used to limit the volume of the car stereo system and emit a chime for six seconds every five minutes until the driver puts on a seatbelt.

MyKey can also be programmed to chime once each time the car reaches 45 mph, 55 mph, and 65 mph to alert young drivers about their acceleration.

Another feature, useful to anyone who fails to notice when the fuel light goes on, chimes when the car is 75 miles from empty. (The light on a Ford usually goes on at 50 miles to empty.)

via cnet

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