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Q&A With the “Father of Ford’s MyKey”
Sep 10 2009 by Courtney Messenbaugh
Andy Sarkisian’s official title is safety manager for product planning and strategy at Ford, but if you look him up online, you’ll find he’s called the “Father of Ford’s MyKey.” I’ve tried the MyKey out and loved it. With MyKey, a parent can program their teen’s car key to ensure that they wear their seat belt and limit how fast they can drive and how loudly they listen to the radio. It’s all about safety while driving.
I recently spoke with Sarkisian, and when I called him the Father of MyKey, he shied away from the title. Sarkisian told me that MyKey “took a whole team of talented folks to make happen and become real.” He’s smart, safety-conscious and humble, a rare combo indeed. He’s also a loving husband and proud father of two bright young women.
Q: Let’s start with the obvious, how did you come up with the idea of MyKey?
A: I’ve always been a big believer in seat belts, and a couple of personal experiences really drove this home for me.
A neighbor, who was like a son to me, sent me a letter a few years back thanking me for having impressed upon him the need for wearing a seat belt. Apparently, he had been in a car accident, and his seat belt saved his life. The driver of the car he was in, who didn’t have his seat belt on, ended up in critical condition. I think he equated me with seat belts because when he was in high school I let him borrow my Mustang for prom one year, and our deal was that he could only drive it if he and his date wore seat belts without fail. One of my daughters was also in two accidents that she walked away from unscathed, but had she not been wearing her seat belt, she probably would not have been so lucky.
The combination of these experiences as well as our team’s constant brainstorming about how to make accidents less common helped inform the birth of MyKey.
Q: What’s in store for the next generation of safety?
A: We are always looking at active safety features. These are the things that can help a driver avoid accidents. [Antilock brakes], stability control, blind spot detection systems and backup cameras are all helping in this area.
The 2010 Ford Taurus has a collision warning system as an option that offers brake support, flashing lights and emergency stops in the event of an accident; this is a good example of where active safety features are headed. We also spend a lot of time thinking about how to protect drivers and passengers in the event that an accident is not avoided.
After teenagers, the highest death rates among drivers are in the 70-plus age group, and those folks are sometimes frail enough that they may never recover from accident-related injuries. We’re looking at how we can better protect them in the vehicle, especially with the aging population.
Q: Do you have any advice for MotherProof.com readers?
A: Lead by example. If you don’t wear your seat belt, your child isn’t going to no matter how many times you ask him to. And focus on the positive. Praise your children for the safety measures they practice and hope to build on that.
