You hoo. It’s just me…

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You’ve seen the commercials.  Flo shilling for Progressive.  Where she tries to convince you that Progressive will save you money.   Of course, there’s a catch…

You sign up for snapshot.  You hook it up to your car and they monitor your driving.   You say- that’s fine, you don’t mind it.   It might save you some money.

Just so you know, Progressive is not the only insurance company with designs to monitor you. Liberty Mutual just signed up with Subaru.   And, Subaru will let Liberty Mutual download your driving information.  (Liberty Mutual calls this their “RightTrack” program.)   And, there’s Allstate and State Farm who are playing Big Brother, too.

Big Brother is Watchiong

But, consider this.  Would you want the government to have this capabilitys?   Wow!  Why did you change your answer?

So, let’s consider reality.

First of all, anything your insurance company has is NOT private.  They can provide that information to whoever they want, whenever they want.  And, they share information among the other insurance companies.

Sure, the insurance companies claim this data will encourage drivers to behave more safely.   But, consider this.  There are slews of operators (I know they are not ‘driving’ their cars) who go below the speed limit- thinking they are inherently safe- but they roll through stop signs, they turn right on red without stopping or even looking, and have plenty of accidents.  For those of us who are nightowls, we’ll be hit with premium increases.  (Progressive is positive that driving at 2 Am is some 4-5 times as risky as driving at 7 AM.  Sure- all those other cars around you, as the operators are drinking coffee and putting on eye makeup- they won’t hit you.)

I admit that I drive quickly.  Not in town, but on the highways.   And, while part of this is luck (since I can always be hit), I have not had an accident in decades.  Oh, and the last speeding ticket I got was more than a decade ago.  That means I really am not a problem for the insurance industry.  But, facts like that won’t matter.

Because pretty soon, none of us will be able to get insurance without these obtrusive controls.  No more answering questions whether you drive to work, no more letting them see your driving record.  They will know how you drive, when you drive, and where you drive.  (By the way, that tryst you thought was secret?   Fuhgeddaboudit!)   And, you can bet if you slam on your brakes routinely (to stop at the light- even if you are not speeding [see my note two paragraphs above] since they define slamming on brakes as decreasing one’s speed by 7 mph in a second), your insurance rates are going to go up- a lot.

Back to the government monitoring.  You do know that the government already can discern your driving habits.  Almost every (I am hoping there is one manufacturer who doesn’t, but I am not sanguine) has the computers installed in your car to perform the same sort of black box (ok, they’re really orange) that exist in airplanes and trains.  (This is to what Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, and Liberty Mutual want to connect.) So, the speed you were maintaining when you hit that car- the governmentwill know it without looking for skid marks.

Maybe you should change your mind and demand that our governments write laws that this information is confidential.   That insurance companies can’t keep it forever, can’t share it among their pals- or even their enemies, etc.

It’s only your right to privacy that is being flushed down the drain.

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12 thoughts on “You hoo. It’s just me…”

    1. Interesting observation, Caro!
      Just imagine when these driverless cars arrive. (Oh, by the way, California has decided that the “operator” – which now means passenger- will be responsible for any accidents with which the driverless car is involved. Nothing like absolving Google, Ford, Tesla, et. al. for their design flaws…)

  1. Yes, and I’m tired of our Constitutional rights being abridged by the corporate loophole that lets corporations get by with things the government can’t (directly) and things we could never get by with demanding of or doing to each other!

    I am generally a good driver and don’t have trysts – but dammit, if I hit the gas a little too hard or take an extra 30 minutes to run to the mall on my lunch hour, no one needs to know I went on a shopping binge, either! 🙂 You are very right to point this out, and I wish more people would think harder. (They also have our gps-enabled cell phones, fwiw.) You don’t turn off gps when you drive, do you?

    And seriously, hasn’t Flo always struck you as a little creepy and stalkerish?
    Holly Jahangiri recently posted..Gratitude and a List

    1. I won’t tell you who Flo reminds me- certain things really are better left unspoken, Holly.
      And, I don’t have location services active on my phone. Which brings up another thing- why is it apps that have no need for such information- won’t install if you won’t enable GPS and location services? Could it be because they are more interested in selling your personal information than providing you for what you thought you were downloading?

  2. I would much rather drive at 2am than at Miami rush hour!

    Thanks for the reminder that we are not always as protected as we think, even from those that are supposed to protect us!

    1. Nicole:
      Thanks for the visit and the comment!
      And, I’m with you 100%! I certainly prefer driving at 2 AM. My kids (when they were younger) were not always such willing participants- until we got to our destination quickly. (They, of course, had the opportunity to sleep while I drove. Which meant they were also relatively rested- and not restive!)

  3. Roy, it isn’t just driving habits. I read an article in Consumer Reports recently where they talked about auto insurance companies using your credit ratings in their underwriting, along with other criteria you may never have dreamed of. Alana

    1. Yes, they do use credit ratings, too, Alan. You are absolutely correct in that.
      It’s one of the reasons why the poorer Americans have such a tough time getting a fair shake.
      Thanks, Alana, for reminding us of all the ways the insurance company collects information- and disseminates it- without our direct permission (and, often, our knowledge).

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