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Mobile, Alabama Personal Injury Lawyer Blog | Long & Waite

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Ford Feature Designed to Prevent Teen Auto Accidents

Teens are disproportionately involved in fatal automobile accidents. Because they are inexperienced drivers who are more likely to be speeding or doing other potentially dangerous maneuvers, and because they are more likely to be in the car with friends and distracting music, they are involved in accidents more than other drivers. 16-year old drivers, for example, are three times more likely to die in a car accident than drivers of any other age, and mile for mile they are 10 times more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers aged 30 to 59. Over 5000 teens die every year in auto accidents, making it one of the leading causes of teen deaths.

To help prevent these wrongful deaths of teens, Ford Motor Company is releasing a new technology that will allow parents to have a little more control over how their teens drive. The feature, called MyKey, utilizes the computer chip already in use as an antitheft device on Ford cars to allow the car to identify when teenagers are driving the car and impose a number of conditions on the young driver, including:


 

  • Not allowing the car to drive over 80 mph
  • An increased frequency and duration of seatbelt warning chime
  • Limited radio volume
  • A chime that sounds if the teen exceeds 45, 55, or 65 mph


 

The majority of parents like the idea, and teens, though resistant, are generally okay with the MyKey if it makes their parents more likely to loan them the car.

Hopefully, this technology will reduce not only the number of teens killed, but also the number of injuries caused to others by careless or distracted teen drivers.

If you have been injured by a distracted driver, schedule a car accident consultation with the auto accident attorneys at Long & Waite, Attorneys at Law, P.C. today.

posted by Dr. Candelaria at 9:09 AM