It’s a stage that most parents have to go through and which most of them dread... their child has just passed their driving test and wants to borrow the car! Whilst they have passed their test with flying colours, it’s hard not to turn into an over-concerned parent and wonder how your child will drive once they are free to venture the roads by themselves. However, parents may soon be able to put their worries aside, thanks to a new piece of technology that can ensure your kids are behaving on the road.
Motor vehicle giants Ford are set to launch new parental controls for the 2012 Fiesta. The technology works via the ignition key, where parents can programme in a maximum speed, limit the volume of the stereo system and make many other tweaks to make the car much safer to drive.
Whilst many deem this to be a step in the right direction, there are still some issues. For example, the parents can only put a speeding cap on of up to 80mph. There is nothing in place to stop someone from going up to 80mph in a 30mph zone, apart from a warning chime that will go off when the car reaches certain speeds.
Whist this is still in its early stages, many will welcome this new safety tool, allowing many parents to feel more at ease when handing over the keys to their eager-to-drive offspring.
This is also seen as a much more productive technique to teach your children road safety, than say teaching your four-year-old child how to drive by handing over the keys and giving directions from the back seat, which is exactly what happened recently in Jinal, China.
The video was uploaded onto YouTube, where you can hear the parent filming, telling his child to “concentrate” and “be careful”. It is reported that the parent gave his child stilts to use so she could reach the pedals, similar to a famous scene from the Indiana Jones films.
What’s even more staggering is that when local officials were quizzed on the incident, they claimed there was little they could do if they were to catch the family responsible; as children under the age of 14 in this region cannot be given tickets. Instead, they would only be able to ‘educate the parents’ not to let their child who was still using a pacifier, to drive a car!
From the reports describing how shocked and appalled many people were from this video, it’s unlikely this will catch on in the UK! For the parental control key system however, it appears to be a step in the right direction. It has not yet been reported whether installing systems such as these will help to decrease the high costs of insurance premiums for new drivers. However, it will more than likely be a benefit rather than a hindrance. Only time will tell if this new piece of technology will catch on and benefit safe young drivers who are constantly suffering from high insurance premiums.
If you’re a young driver looking for a cheap quote, visit eCar, an online insurance solution that will let you manage your car insurance whenever is suitable for you. As well as annual car insurance, we provide short term car insurance from 1 to 28 days and monthly car insurance in the form of a flexible Pay As You Go car insurance policy.
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