>>>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/06/tech/main4504130.shtml?tag=lowerContent;homeSectionBlock205
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>>That idea actually has a lot of potential. Sort of like a valet key on steroids.
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>My concern was with the limit of 80mph. That is WAY TOO FAST. The only reason I can see a teen needing to go 80mph is in order to pass and if they have to go 80, then they shouldn't be passing anyway because chances are a teen cannot handle a car going 80mph.

I generally agree, but the article (and/or Ford) points out that the speed limit on some highways in some states is over 70mph. There are circumstances where it's hazardous to travel less than the speed of other traffic(*), and that traffic may be exceeding the speed limit.

I think the solution is to have limits set at the car dealership, according to parents' wishes. Not at home - too susceptible to hacking from tech-savvy teens ;-)

(*) Or you could get dinged by the cops! I remember a case from Toronto a few years back. The speed limit on the main 400-series highways in Ontario is 100kmh, but average traffic speed is often 125-130kmh.

One day a young fellow traveling a little *slower* than the average traffic (at 120kmh) got cut out of the herd by a cop and ticketed. He was so incensed, the next day he got some of his buddies together and they drove out on a major freeway, at rush hour, at exactly the posted speed limit, line abreast so no-one could go around them. In no time, cars were backed up behind them for kilometers, leaning on their horns. Eventually, they all got pulled over by the cops, but they'd made their point by then.

Personally, I favour the Australian speed-limit scheme.