Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
Parents were also worried about their teens using their phones to talk or text while driving, while the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that “teens are more likely to take risks such as speeding – a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes.”
When it came to teenagers being surveyed by Harris for Ford, they were unsurprisingly happier with a MyKey-equipped system that gave them “more freedom to drive”, although at first, 67% said they didn’t want the MyKey technology at all.
But after realising MyKey could actually mean “greater driving privileges”, only 36% were still against it.
Jim Buczkowski, director, Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering, from the same team that developed Ford’s SYNC system (to integrated with smartphones and mp3/media players) in partnership with Microsoft said: “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.
“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.”
Parents can program MyKeys through the car’s “vehicle message center”, which then updates Ford’s SecuriLock system. The next time a MyKey is placed in the ignition, the SecuriLock system reads a special “transponder chip” in the key and then activates the MyKey safety features.
These include the “Ford Beltminder” with audio mute, which normally provides a “a six-second reminder chime every minute for five minutes”, although when a MyKey is inserted, 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.”
Another feature is an earlier low-fuel warning, which warns you only have 75 miles of travel before the tank is empty, rather than the normal 50 miles to empty warning.
MyKey also ensures that the “Park Aid” and “BLISTM (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert” features cannot be deactivated.
Other MyKey features available to parents include:
- 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
Ford also says the MyKey system can help teens understand that driving slower improves fuel economy. 55mph driving instead of 65mph uses 15% less fuel, while avoiding “excessive idling” and “jackrabbit starts” can “improve fuel economy by more than 50%”.
You can see a video of the MyKey system in action at this BBC story on the Ford MyKey.
David Bass
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