Ray LaHood, the Department of Transportation's boss, recently had the revelation that looking down at your phone for four seconds while behind the wheel means you're "driving the length of a football field without watching the road." The DoT goes on to claim that distracted driving took the lives of up to 6,000 Americans in 2008 alone, with many more severely injured. Ford knows the stats and believes that texting while driving should be banned, but at the same time, many of the company's vehicles come with SYNC, arguably the most interactive infotainment system on the market.

The Detroit News reports that Ford's second generation SYNC system will address distracted driving head-on with the ability to block out all external stimuli while the vehicle is in motion. The "Do Not Disturb" switch will be available first in the MyFord Touch-equipped 2011 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX models. The DND button will block phone calls and text messages while retaining hands-free calling and 911 Assist, which dials up 911 in the event of an emergency. Also blocked is typing on a keypad for text or Internet and narrowing navigation and phone choices. The only question now is: Who's going to turn the feature on?

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/08/r...ile-vehicle-i/

 

It's a good option, and shows that Ford is being proactive about safety, but I agree. "Who's going to turn it on?" Not me!!!

 

I'd have it turned on under a passkey system if I had kids that drove the cars.


Which I don't.




But I <3 Big Brother with open arms if it's got Ford's oval on it!

 

I'm not sure how the whole SYNC system works, but is there always a wire laying ontop the console (as in the photo)? Is it always exposed? If so, that is a retarded and dated set-up. It's long been known leaving anything visible inside your car (while away) will attract theives. And if it's something you have to connect and disconnect to remove everytime you leave your car, that is a major inconvenience and waste of time. If all of this is the case, I think SYNC sucks and Ford needs to create something more modern that is 100% integrated in the vehicle, with no wires or lose parts showing. It reminds me of how GM often pitches OnStar as a navigation system. Another incomplete and slow process that does not match conventional mapped navigation screens.

 

I thinks its a great idea. I know many of the manufacturers will jump on this as well. we need to stop the dangerous texting that these stupid teens keep doing. I saw a lady this morning texting while driving south on the 17 freeway. I honked for a good 8-10 seconds until she looked up. I then motioned for her to keep her eyes on the road. As I pulled away I saw her just look back down and continue. Next time I am going to get a little more drastic. These idiots need to know that they can kill someone. If they kill themselves who cares. I am concerned about the innocent people around them.

 

If i'm not mistaken, i'm pretty sure that's just a cable to play music form the mp3 player that it's plugged in to (which doesn't come with the sync system).

 

It's okay as long as you're Big Brother

Yup, that's just the USB cable connecting the system to the MP3 player

 

They are estimating that close to 6000 people lost their lives last year because people were doing things behind the wheel like texting etc. That just sad and totally preventable

 

Malthusianism; it's about time.

 

If it's that good a feature, then why limit it to just two models?

 

As usual, the moronic engineers at Ford (and GM for that matter) put NO thought into this kind of stuff.

Why in the WORLD is the audio and USB jack right on the front of the console like that?

It means taking my mp3 player out, putting it in front of the transmission selector like that, and plugging it in.

and, when I leave the car I either have to unhook all the crap, or leave it out...in plain sight...for someone to steal.

Here's a crazy idea...put the audio jack and USB plug in the center console (or glove box)...JUST LIKE EVERY JAPANESE MANUFACTURER DOES!!!

Engineering idiots.


Oh, and to the OP...yeah, I won't be activating that "feature" on my car anytime soon.

 

I8ABMR, your original post is a cut and paste from autoblog. If you wish to post this copyrighted material on CL, please post a credit and a link to the original work.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/08/r...ile-vehicle-i/

 

i put the link in the op

 

sorry. I post these pretty quickly sometimes .