Ford, a car company one typically doesn’t associate with innovation, has come with with something ingenious called the MyKey. It’s a car key that’s Bluetooth enabled, so when it’s paired up to your phone and you’re hauling ass on the way to the grocery store, any incoming call or text you get is “blocked” so that you can process them later when you’re not in motion anymore. Ford likes to call this the “Do Not Disturb” feature and they say it’s an industry first. Peter Patzelt, System Architect for the MyKey project, says: “MyKey can give parents peace of mind when they hand the keys over to their kids, and the new Do Not Disturb feature helps parents control another risk factor when their child gets behind the wheel.” What Peter doesn’t realize is that kids can simply turn off the Bluetooth in their mobile phone should they want to be able to text and drive. But hey, that doesn’t mean Ford doesn’t deserve some kudos for trying to prevent little Sally’s brains from exploding when her forehead makes contact with the windshield.
In America the MyKey will come with the 2012 Ford Explorer while in Europe you’ll have to buy the 2012 Ford Fiesta. Ford says that they want to make this a standard feature across their entire lineup, and again, we commend them for doing that, but we don’t think they’re going to make any dent in people’s dangerous habits. Police should step up their game and issue more fines, and governments at all levels (city, state, country) should start a full out marketing assault that both educates people and scares the crap out of them. Those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s remember the “this is your brain, this is your brain on drugs” commercials. Driving and texting needs to have an equally rememberable campaign.
[Image credit: Wendy Piersall]