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Big Brother In Your Front Seat
Rick Zeman writes "Would you give up your privacy in your car to save a few bucks on your auto insurance? 'Safe' drivers who plug an electronic device into their vehicles will be then eligible for a discount on their insurance. They say, '...the device constantly tracks car speed. By comparing that with a clock in the TripSense device, the device figures how far the car goes, mapping it against the time of day. At the end of each policy term, the customer would download the data and see what discount he or she would get. Customers can see all their data before deciding to send it to Progressive, and can decide not to send it -- and not get extra discounts.' I wonder how soon it will be that everyone has one except those resigned to paying extra as with grocery 'convenience' cards."
I did. My dad lets me drive his vette because he trusts me implicitly.
But then again, some parents are morons whose sweet little angel could NEVER do ANYTHING wrong...
My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
If you check out you state laws, you'll find that the local police, state highway patrol, etc. are exempt from the speed limit. Call your local congressman and complain.
Using the Freedom of Speech while I still have it.
...about this kind of technology. European lorry drivers have had to use tachographs for long time to assist law enforcement in ensuring that driving hours regulations are adhered to. As time has gone on they have become more difficult for drivers to tamper with, so the days are gone when a driver can just 'pull the fuse' on the tachograph when his hours are up and keep on driving.
Drill baby drill - on Mars
Avis doesn't, but a no-name company in Connecticut got sued for doing it
Anyone else notice how cops are immune to DUI laws? We used to own a restaurant in Vancouver. When the cops came in, it was friggin' christmas for us. Fifty drunk cops acting like asses. Then when it came time to leave you'd get the response "I'm a cop, I don't lose my license if I get stopped at a road block; they just follow me home"
Friggin' crock of shit if you ask me.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
And the word of the day is... INSURANCE FRAUD. Meaning 5 years in prison and a $50,000 fine if you get caught.
Karma: Segmentation fault (tried to dereference a null post)
If you check out you state laws, you'll find that the local police, state highway patrol, etc. are exempt from the speed limit.
I checked out my state laws and found out that they aren't.
They are permited to exceed the limit when in hot pursuit or when calibrating their speedometers. At all other times they are as legally bound to the limit as you and I.
The same applies to right of way rules.
Running lights at 90 mph in order to be first in line at Dunkin Donuts is right out; and if they hurt anybody while doing so they are in deep, deep shit, because they have violated the law.
KFG
Indiana doesn't require you to have insurance. You can sign an affidavit stating that you can afford to pay for any accidents you're the cause of. Or something like that. I'm pretty sure you also need to supply some proof that you can afford it, too.
How does it know you're breaking the law, and where's my right of appeal? There's no mention as to the accuracy of the program. If - for example - I'm driving from a 40mph limit into a 30mph limit, and I hit 30 just before or just after the 30 sign post, do I take a hit on my premium?
What if they get it wrong? Do I have a right to appeal?
I complain regularly about speeding drivers, but this is not a good solution!
The ways of gods are mysteriously indistinguishable from chance.
In this case, you are mandated to pay a third party. In other cases (such as civil suits) the government may mandate that you relinquish damages to another party. That is also clearly not a tax.
Most of us can't afford to tie up $40,000 cash just to avoid getting screwed by an insurance company.
Well in Ohio in alternative to car insurance is like a half million dollar escrow account that the state holds. This is only feasible for large corporations who are self insured and who do not wish to use the paperwork services of an insurance company (this is how most self insurance is actually done).
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Move to the right lane and let them pass.
Too many folks have forgotten the left lane is the "passing Lane" and refuse to get out of it because they are going "Fast enough", and even more have forgotten the rule of "Right of way" Being when two vehicles arrive at a stop sign at or about the same time - the vehicle to the drivers right goes first. I can't tell you how many times I've almost been hit by people that just don't understand there's rules to driving.
_ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
Good for you. Countless studies prove you wrong, of course. Greater speed means more accidents and more deadly accidents as sure as night follows day. But people don't want to believe that, so they don't.
Chris Mattern
This happened in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.
The Mayor was caught drinking and driving. The police halled him into the station where the cheif of police promotely gave the keys back the Mayor and wished him on his drunken way.
At least the chief of police lost his job because of it.
Sad thing is the Mayor should have been thrown in jail and made someone's bitch. He was caught because he was seen leaving a party and driving his wife's car and someone reported him. He could not drive his own car because he already had one of those devices on it that you have to breath into to make it work. So the mayor knew he was drunk and planned how to get home drunk. When he was caught he bullied the cheif of Police into letting him go. A little bit too much power for the pea brain.
not always.
...but the speed limit is still 35 (often exceeded during day time).
speed limits along residential roads are partially set to protect children, but actually are more often set to control noise.
in Sterling, there's a 4-lane divided road through town, with service roads, meaning cars in the main road are 45+ feed away from the sidewalk that any kid might walk along...
turns out the reason is not safety (the road in and of itself qualifies for a 45), but noise. cars and trucks driving a steady 35-40 are much quieter than vehicles accelerating to try to get back up to 55mph.
"But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
-- Joe
If this were true then an insurance company wouldn't be offering a discount for the people who don't drive fast.
Insurance rates aren't set randomly--they're set based on the average expected claims for a given combination of driver and vehicle (plus a percentage on top for the company). Presumably this company has done the research and found that there is indeed a correlation between lower speeds and reduced risk of accidents.
True, the correlation isn't perfect--there are some fast drivers who are not dangerous, and there are some dangerous drivers who don't drive fast. This measure must have some significant predictive value, though, or else an insurance company wouldn't try to adopt it. Remember, they work with statistics. If on average faster drivers are involved in more accidents or more expensive insurance claims than slow drivers, then it makes sense to them to provide a discount to drivers who seldom speed.
~Idarubicin
Government mandated payment = tax.
No, a government mandated payment that goes to the GOVERNMENT is a tax. Your license and registration fees are taxes. Insurance is not a tax, it's quite different -- for one thing, you can't shop around for better rates on a tax or reduce your taxation by taking a ten hour "defensive citizenship class" Insurance is important -- it's a guarantee that if you drive your car like a weapon you'll be able to compensate your victims. In fact some states -- California comes to mind -- allow you to bypass insurance if you're willing to dedicate a certain amount of money to indemnify yourself. You can post a bond and even collect interest on it. Some other states allow super cut rate insurance on tiny cars and/or motorcycles where the chance of injuring others is low. Other states allow you to skip insurance on vehicles that are rarely used ("show" cars) and most will let you skip it if the vehicle is only driven on private roads.
You can also drive without insurance in some areas if you're renting the car -- at least, the rental company is not required to check proof of insurance before issuing the car/truck/hovercraft. But I wouldn't suggest it.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
Southern California has a lot of roads where the speed limit differs depending on which direction you're going, I shit you not (frex, the speed limit northbound might be 40mph, and southbound *on the same street* might be 50mph). When I asked the CHP about this, they said something to the effect that it's a zoning thing.
Also, some areas have different speed limits and lane restrictions depending on the time of day.
Raw GPS position isn't enough; the direction of travel has to be taken into account. It would need to be so specific as to know all the posted speed limits AND all the odd quirks such as the above.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
A welcome improvement - folks who eat poorly, smoke, and don't excercise will get their health insurance rates jacked up.
I'd agree with that far more than the corporate big-brother in my car.
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
Listen up.
I don't smoke, so why should I pay more for health insurance because you do?
I don't eat lots of red meat, saturated or trans fats, and I eat lots of vegetables. Why should I pay more for your McSupersized diet?
I don't eat soda, candy, or sugar. So why should I pay for your rotten teeth and diabetes?
I don't speed, I don't weave in traffic, and I honor traffic signals. I'm not in such a huge hurry to chop ten seconds off my trip everytime I get behind the wheel. So why should I pay for your unsafe driving habits?
Fact is, I'd be happy to install one of these if it saved me money from subsidizing your bad behavior.
The freedom to be let alone is fundamental; so is the freedom to not pay for the behavior of idiots.
Who says that 'speeding equates to accidents?'
The numbers. That's it. Look up "actuary" and understand what they do. These statements are no random happenstance, it's based on statistical science. It may not be exact, but it's much more exact than the from-the-hip-slashdot analysis we see around here.
I used to work as a programmer computing insurance costs based on monsterous actuary-generated tables. Each company has their own actuaries and methodologies.
Trust me, all of your concerns are taken into account: age, car type, tickets, wrecks, distance from house, car color, job, marriage, kids. Etc. These guys look at what happens based on all of this information. They do everything to mitigate risks based on this information and they're good, real good. They gather as much information as is necessary for their computations and as much is allowed by law.