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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • What a deal! 10/25/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, October 25, 2009 New technology can help teens drive more safely, up to a point By Julie Muhlstein Herald Columnist If you happened to see me zipping south on I-5 Friday morning in the passenger seat of a shiny new Ford Expedition, maybe I'd better explain. My driver had reason to be exceeding the speed limit — and it was just a few seconds, honest. “See that message?” Brad Schell said as he stepped on the gas and pointed to a “Check Speed Drive Safely” light flashing near the speedometer. “We're near the top speed. You can feel the vehicle not be able to go any faster,” Schell said. Sure enough, as the speedometer ticked up to 80 mph, the engine backed off on its own. The big SUV is certainly able to travel faster than 80, but not when its top speed is limited by new technology called MyKey. A feature available on the 2010 Expedition and five other Ford models, MyKey gives a car's owner some control over other drivers through adjustable settings. Parents of teen drivers, especially, may like the ability to limit audio volume to 44 percent of the sound system's available volume. “It's plenty loud. It's hard to have a conversation with it this loud,” said Schell, a sales consultant at Everett's Brien Ford, as we drove back to the dealership with the radio at the upper limit of the MyKey setting. During the short drive, Schell explained how the system works. One of a car's two keys is used as the “administrator-owner” key to control settings. The other MyKey cannot change settings. Cars with the system also have default settings that aren't adjustable, including an early low-fuel warming, a reverse sensing system and a “Persistent Belt-Minder” that displays a continuous warning, sounds a chime and mutes the audio system until the driver and front-seat passenger buckle up. Adjustable MyKey settings can not only limit the top speed, but sound speed alert chimes at 45, 55 or 65 mph. The system can also tell owners how far their cars have been driven, and those records can't be erased by MyKey drivers. “It's not just for parents, but for fleet purposes, to track employees,” Schell said. While Ford literature describes MyKey as “industry-exclusive,” there are other technologies helping parents keep young drivers safe. Teensurance, a product of Open Seas Solutions Inc. that is sanctioned by Safeco Insurance Co., is one of several services giving parents some control. It provides location tracking, arrival and departure alerts, programmed driving zones and e-mail notifications. A Teensurance package costs about $200, plus a monthly fee of about $20 for a two-year plan. It includes a Safety Beacon device that goes with the teen, even if they ride with friends. Along with tracking and monitoring, roadside assistance is available. Use of the service also cuts insurance rates, at least for teen drivers using Safeco policies. “Our product is a service and a tracking device, GPS-based, that goes in the car under the dash. It allows a parent to track the whereabouts of that vehicle on an ongoing basis,” said Paul Hollie, a Safeco spokesman. “You can set speed alerts and set a perimeter, like ‘I don't want you going to Issaquah,' ” he said. “It comes down to an agreement between parents and kids,” Hollie said. “Kids want to drive more, and parents are very concerned. We know the statistics. It gives parents peace of mind.” Riding with Schell on a rainy day, talking about the perils of teens and cars, I couldn't help but think back to a fall day five years ago. My son, then 17, had an accident and totaled our minivan. No one was seriously hurt, but I still sometimes imagine a what-if nightmare. Would safety systems or tracking devices have prevented my boy's crash? They couldn't have hurt, but likely wouldn't have helped. And these days, few parents can afford the safest cars or newest technology for their kids. Here's my advice: When your teen gets that learner's permit, you get in that passenger seat. I know how scary it is to sit there, while that kid merges into the flow on the freeway, or changes lanes in heavy traffic. Do it anyway, over and over again, while that kid drives and drives. I didn't spend nearly enough time riding shotgun with a fledgling driver. I regret it. Technology is great, but there are no substitutes for driving experience and judgment. Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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