*Watch out young drivers – car company Ford is set to introduce parental controls to their cars. The MyKey system will limit a car’s top speed, how loud the stereo can go and sound a warning if seatbelts are not worn. The controls are due to debut in 2009 in certain US cars, the first of which being the Ford Focus. But do people really think this will stop young drivers abusing their independence? *

Research conducted by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed speeding to be the major factor in teen crashes. Why is it that as soon as many teenagers pass their tests they feel they are the best drivers? Young drivers consistently seem to believe that being a ‘good’ driver is the ability to handle a car at high speeds. Statistics show that most accidents happen during the first six months post-test. If they don’t drive their own cars like maniacs, then they are abusing their parents’ cars. No wonder there is a call for parental controls!

However, does Ford really think this is going to make a difference? Youths will find a way around the system if they really want to: they always do. The system will limit a car to 80mph, but is this really of any help? It is the main roads, with schools and houses that call for low limits, where loud music and speeding offer the largest problems.

The main flaw of the system is that drivers can still speed at a suicidal 80mph down a residential road. If Ford wants to try to control youngsters and encourage them to be safer drivers, perhaps the system should work on a GPS/SatNav basis and restrict the speed depending on the type of road. The speed limitation as it is will not necessarily make roads safer and lower accident levels.

Dangerous driving is another huge problem, whether it is lack of experience, a car full of mates piling on the peer pressure or simply driving stupidly for “fun”, many drivers just don’t care, especially when it is their parents’ car. After all, the parents are the ones who see the consequences of speeding fines or insurance claims, not the children.

If parents feel the need to control their children’s driving, perhaps they should have taught them more responsibility in the first place and the children should suffer the consequences of their dangerous driving, in order to teach them a lesson.

With over 3,000 car drivers aged under 25 killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads each year, one in five drivers crashing within their first year of driving and an 18 year-old driver being three times more likely to be involved in a crash than a 48 year-old driver, do Ford and parents really think this system is going to make a difference? It seems that most newly-passed drivers feel that because they have that all-important certificate and pink card in their hand, they can drive however they wish, even if it endangers others. As far as I can see, the only positives of the system are that it will encourage people to wear seatbelts, so when the driver does crash, maybe the passengers will survive, and that it will hopefully restrict the number of wannabe ‘rude boys’ blaring out their music as they speed through the streets late at night.

Here are some more shocking facts for you from the Department for Transport: “one in three male drivers aged between 17 and 20 years crash in the first two years after passing their test. Young drivers are more likely to be involved in high speed crashes, single vehicle crashes involving losing control, crashes in the dark and when overtaking and negotiating bends.”

Clearly, speeding is only the tip of the iceberg! Lack of experience is the main reason for these accidents; maybe the Government should actually implement something that will make a difference to accident statistics, such as improving their learner driver policy by significantly increasing the number of hours required or making Pass Plus an obligation.

All in all, the system is not going to encourage most young drivers to drive more responsibly or safely. Yes, it will limit speed on motorways, but it will not make people better drivers or help with speeding and dangerous driving in populated and residential areas, where it is most called for.