Leadpile’s Blog

Ford is stepping up and taking action to assist parents in controlling the speed when their teenager are behind the wheel. Teenagers account for a large percentage of car accidents, mainly due to speeding.  Ford has just introduced a new feature called “My Key”.  My Key will play a major role in decreasing potential car accidents caused by teenagers. 
Parents will be able to limit teen drivers to a speed of 80mph, using a computer chip on the key. Parents also have the option of controlling the stereo volume, which has been known to also distract teen drivers.  In addition, there is a programable chip that can be installed to set off a six second chime, if the driver is not wearing their seat-belt.  Parents can even instruct to set up an annoying chime that will keep going off if they go over 45, 55, or 65mph. Safety first!  
My Key will be rolled out in the summer of 2010 in both cars and trucks.  It will debut in the new 2010 Ford Focus, but also become a part of both Lincoln and Mercury models. 

Ford will get a lot of attention with the My Key.  I’m sure it will quickly spread across other recognized brands.  Smart move for Ford to lead the pack on targeting safety and teens. Teens of course are not thrilled, but overall it’s a great feature that Ford created to promote safety.
What do you think about this new My Key? Is it a thumbs up or thumbs down? 

I have heard reports on the news about 8 veteran US Airways pilots being called into safety training.They are being questioned why they are repeatedly asking for extra fuel to keep the planes in the air substantially longer than the planned flight time. The airline has stated that they were just attempting to understand the pilots actions and not punish them.

The airline has stated that the more fuel in the aircraft, the heavier the aircraft, and the more it costs to fly the aircraft. The pilots have stated they want to make sure that they have enough fuel for rerouting or fly around the airport waiting to land in any delays. The pilots ultimately have the last word in how much fuel goes into the plane. 

Safety experts say that there is nothing wrong with airlines holding the line on fuel – to a point. If a pilot feels that adding another 15 to 30 minutes of flying fuel to the flight then let him. It will make the passengers feel safe and the pilot feel safe as well.

This is definitely not giving the airline any good publicity. This seems to make travelers not want to fly their airline, by making them feel less safe. By making passengers think that they are thinking more about the bottom line than their safety.  US Airways needs to find a way to put a positive spin on this to take advantage of the situation, and right now I am not seeing how they can come out of this looking good.