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Howard Stern will be taken off the road, at least in some cars — and for particular drivers.
Ford has announced that the ability to censor 16 explicit Sirius Satellite Radio channels — including Stern, Playboy, Hip Hop Nation, and Raw Dog Comedy — will be part of the MyKey parental control system in certain vehicles next year. So for some, it looks like no more driving under the influence of shock jocks.
“There’s a lot of mature-content programming out there, and it could be somewhat of a distraction for less-mature ears,” Andy Sarkisian, Ford’s safety planning and strategy manager, told USA Today.
Ford’s MyKey technology already provides for several safety measures intended to help protect young, inexperienced drivers: parents can place limits on speed and audio volume, and also mute the audio until seatbelts are buckled. NewsFeed can’t help but think adult drivers could also benefit from this.
(More from TIME.com: Distracted Driving: Should Talking, Texting Be Banned?).
But MyKey is looking out for the teens, and parents, who never ever get distracted by the radio, don’t have to worry about missing their favorite shows. “Mom and Dad still have their own key and can listen to Howard,” Sarkisian made sure to say.
Of course, teenagers, immature ears or no, arguably have more mature technology capabilities than their parents. Even if the programmable key is inviolable, other serious dangers remain: MyKey does nothing, unfortunately, to curb the hazardous habit of texting while driving. (via USA Today)