Licensed To Drive Slower

I agree with most of you that 80 is too fast! Since I have a teen who will be driving soon, I will have to mull this idea over. I do take issue with having too many devices that give too much information about us to people who could possibly not have our best interests at heart. Chips are being sold now that let you track your kids as they drive. If I can track them, so can preditors!

I think it's a great idea too, but why 80 mph, that's MUCH faster than those kids should be driving. Most speed limits are 65 mph. Maybe the limit should be 60, perhaps they should be driving a bit slower anyway, until they are seasoned drivers. Why don't they just make the "limit" adjustable ?

I'd like to see it top out at 70 mph, not 80... This still won't really be enough, because they'll still drive over the speed limit many times...but I imagine it will help somewhat. At least they can only drive up to a certain speed. 80 mph is terribly fast, though.

I always wondered why they have a "governor" for speed on go carts and such and not something for parents with teens and cars !! This is a product that welcome news and long overdue !!! Yea !!

While the concept is great .... too bad it'll be another 10 years before most teens in this country would have access to these vehicles! I sure wouldn't buy my 16 yr old a car much newer than 10 years old... but maybe that's just me! I love the idea, would prefer a 70 mph limit over 80 mph, but good concept. Sure it won't stop them from going 80 mph in a 40 mph zone, but there is only so much a car maker can do! They can give us these little tools, but its our job as parents to teach the rest!

What a fabulous idea. Since the stats on serious accidents for new drivers who are teens are so high, this should really help! I applaud Ford for being so forward thinking!

I would rather see the parents making the decision of what speed is max to drive at then the auto company. I don't know what place in the USA that legally allows a speed at 80mph. It should be set at 55mph!!!!

I have 10 more years before I have the stress of a teenage driver, but reading something like this helps ease my mind of what it would be like lol=) Kudos to the car manufactors for developing products that will help keep our children safe!

I agree that the 80 mph is too high for a new driver. I know that when I started driving I was uncomfortable going that fast, then it didn't bother me....but now that I'm a mom and I've got my little one in the back I try to keep it about 70. And all of this really depends on where you live. i grew up in Atlanta, so to keep up with the "flow of traffic" on I-75 or I-20 you were easily going 80+ mph. Now I live in Chattanooga, TN and you can go 70 and be leading the pack!! There is a graduated license system in GA up to 18yrs, but I think it should be raised to 21, only b/c I knew of people who did really stupid things involving driving and don't think they would have done them if they knew that couldn't get there "real" license if they were caught. You can't take the freedom of driving away until an older age b/c if anyone was like me, I had a job when I was 17 and communted to school and work all thru college, so I couldn't depend on mom & dad for a ride!

I think it's a good idea, but 80 MPH is not exactly slow, is it? I don't want my teen driving 80 MPH, I'm with the others who voiced 65 MPH. I don't see how it would save lives otherwise.

This is a great idea. Almost all the teens I know have been involved in fender benders usually within the first six months of driving. Until you have that experience under your belt anything goes. Our teens are too important and this new idea seems like a great start to keeping them safe.

I lost my 17 year old cousin a few months ago in a car accident. There were no other vehicles involved, no one else in the vehicle with her, no drugs or alcohol... just excessive speeding. I am only three years older than her, and I'll admit I often drove fast and recklessly when I began driving. Car accidents are claiming too many teen lives today. Features such as this in the new Ford models could be the thing that my save your teen's life. I think that this is a wonderful idea and a great investment towards a new vehicle. I hope that people who purchase those vehicles take advantage of that feature. I only wish that these would have came out sooner. May it save many lives.

This sounds like a really great idea. I do agree with other members though. 80mph seems a little excessive. I don't think there is ever a reason for anyone to drive that fast! Usually the top speed you find around the US is 70 mph. So.... maybe the top speed should be at the very most 70? If not 65??? It doesn't hurt to go 5 mph less than the posted speed limit. Plus it saves on gas!

I have a 19 year old and a 15 year old. When my 19 year old started driving I knew in my heart he was not mature enough to be behind the wheel of a car. I made him call me from his cell from every destination he arrived at and before he left to come back home. I was a wreck for a year, if not more. Now my 15 year old wants to go get her permit, and I'm about to go through it all again. This is a terrific idea, but the downside is you have to purchase a new car. Too bad the manufactures can't produce something to attach to older models.

Ok, my view on this is that if you take a look at the "big trucks" that have a govern on them, there are many ways for the driver's / companies to get arounds the system. It is my belief that it would not be long until these kids would find a way to "beat the system". The kids today are smart, really smart. It does not take them long to figure things out.