big bro in cars!

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big bro in cars!

Postby nomad » Sun Jan 23, 2005 7:44 am

New Device May Save Drivers Big Money

The Catch: Insurance Company Would Become Backseat Driver
A tiny new device may end up saving drivers big money on their car insurance, but there's a catch: You have to let your insurance company become your backseat driver.

She's off to do some errands. But first, Rachel Candelaria stops to plug in a first-of-its-kind gadget. Then, as she drives through lunch hour traffic, that little device below the dash tracks her every move.

"It's amazing that it's so small and can track all your movements when you're driving down the street," Candelaria said.


It's called the TripSensor, developed by Progressive Insurance.

"Progressive's interested in this because we know people who drive less are less likely to have an accident, so we give them more of a discount ... They present less of a risk to us," said Jim Haas, of Progressive Insurance.

Right now, there are thousands of drivers in Minnesota in the pilot program. The TripSensor measures when they drive, how far and how fast. And depending on those factors, they could get a 5- to 25-percent discount.

"The program is entirely voluntary ... you don't have to do it if you don't want to. You get to look at the data before you share it with us and decide then. If you don't want to share it, that's fine," Haas said.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Director Beth Givens likes that.

"Progressive has appeared to put the subscriber in the driver's seat," Givens said.

She still has some serious concerns, however.

"Not only could the privacy policy change at any moment, but there could be demands for that data from third parties," Givens said.

In other words, the records can be subpoenaed, for example, in a custody battle or by law enforcement, making your personal driving data public record very quickly.

Candelaria uploaded her information after 10 days. She's been on the road during some of the riskier times of day and spent a little too much time above 75 mph.

"I know I went those 75 mph when I was racing to get to the airport," Candelaria said.

Her estimated discount? "I only get a 5-percent discount," she said.

And after giving TripSense a test drive, she says she'd probably put the brakes on the idea anyway.

"It's just too Big Brother for me," Candelaria said.

The pilot program will last at least one year.

Meanwhile, when it comes to sharing any information with companies, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse recommends you always be an active participant, reading the privacy policy and terms of service very closely.

Copyright 2005 by nbc5i.com. All rights reserved.
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Postby media » Sun Jan 23, 2005 5:44 pm

Also know that a black box is now in many new cars and can tell accident investigators your speed braking ect..This can be use by police and Insurance adjusters aginst you. When buying ask if your vehicle has one and have it unhooked!
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Postby Romeo247 » Sun Jan 23, 2005 10:57 pm

they have been in cars since the late 80's my father worked for GM for 40 yrs... Its just now that they are being used in the court system that ppl are learning about them. you would be shocked at the data output of one of them, angles, speeds, turn radius, braking power, if u have on-star your longitudes and latitudes. etc.... disabling one requires alot, and will void your factory warrenty instantly so proceed with caution....

there is no car maker of the big 3 that i know of that sell any model without one...
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Postby nomad » Mon Jan 24, 2005 6:25 am

really... i heard about the ones coming out now, how can you find out about if your own car has one? i dont want that shit in my car!
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Postby Romeo247 » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:04 am

My guess would be to say if it's american or made for america its got it...

Im sure the auto manufactures will deny it... But from what I recall caddilac was the first to start playing with them..

I dont have much intel on them.. You can scour the web for info when I get back to work on monday or tuesday (work as clerk for attorny.. I will have him site a case for me where it was used we just were talking about this 2 months ago... Ill post the case info after I have de-googled it..
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Postby mb » Mon Jan 24, 2005 5:29 pm

all modern cars have some sort of black box. they collect different amounts of data.

starting in a year or so, all GM cars will have OnStar.
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Postby media » Mon Jan 24, 2005 6:11 pm

recently where 2 NHL hockey (Atlanta Thrashers) players were involved in an accident in Downtown Buckhead at a speed of 90mph in a Ferrari killed teammate Danny Snyder. Driver/Teammate Heatley has now been charged with his death in part to the information taken from the black box in the car.
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Postby Stiv » Mon Jan 24, 2005 6:27 pm

I had heard somewhere that some rental companies had charged the renters fines for going over the speed limit and it showed up in the data recorders. The renters fought it in court and had the fines tossed because the rental co hadn't forewarned them of this policy.

So yes ask first when renting. None of the companies I tend to use have this policy. ie Enterprise.

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Postby Romeo247 » Tue Jan 25, 2005 9:38 am

mb wrote:all modern cars have some sort of black box. they collect different amounts of data.

starting in a year or so, all GM cars will have OnStar.



Very true...

Side note if you buy a new cell phone make sure it has the gps locator shut off.. i got one from sprint but they couldnt get the web access to work loooong story short i discovered that new cell phones have this gps tracking system and apparently it's required in some law that when there sold they have that feature turned on.. So see if yours is using it. Find out how to shut it off.. (if you don't) want big brother tracking your steps in and out of the local 7-11 ;-)
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Postby doyle » Tue Jan 25, 2005 2:20 pm

doyle
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Postby nomad » Thu Jan 27, 2005 8:23 am

good post, unfortunately im not on that list...... i got a jeep cherokee?
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