I received a vague letter from LexisNexis stating that Colorado law requires them to notify me if my account has a certain number of red flags. When I tried to find out if my personal information was stolen or something, I was able to get a huge report about myself. Part of it was about all the trips I took in that car. There is no location data, but it does include date, time, distance, VIN, and events (acceleration, hard braking, high speed). Let me tell you, this wasn't from an internal GM report, it was one of those companies that does credit checks and stuff. So GM should share this. It took me a little fumbling to figure it out, but here's how to unsubscribe:
Log in to the myChevrolet app
go to more
Tap chevrolet smart driver
You can see all tracked information here and shared. At the top, driving activity Dropdowns don't immediately look like dropdowns. When you click on it, Registration settings
Ignore the “program summary” that tries to justify its creepy existence. Well, I think you can take a look if you feel like it.However, please be sure to tap Cancellation of registration
Please select a reason (I chose other There's no “This is creepy AF” option), so click on it. Cancellation of registration Also
click got it I get a sad notification that I can no longer track you.
Tell your state's attorney general that you are uncomfortable with being tracked (and having your data shared and associated with you personally) unless you explicitly opt-in to the program.
as new york times The article emphasizes that the owner had no knowledge that this data was being shared by GM with a third party, LexisNexis, which sold the data to insurance companies, which in turn sold it to You can use it to adjust the rates your customers pay. Now, with any knowledge that this data is being tracked, car owners can see much of this data, as well as a “driving score” calculated from the data, through their smart driver app. I can.
Of course, it's not yet clear whether this information is being shared by entities other than GM, and it's not clear whether these results could be used to raise premiums. Data is displayed in a game format to encourage drivers to aim for higher scores.
There are so many issues with all of this, from data privacy to consumer rights, but it's also worth noting that the metrics used here have nothing to do with whether drivers are safe or not.
What these indicators seem to be leading the driver into is a kind of languid, carefree, calm driving experience, but I don't think that's what it inherently is. badBut it's also a terrible way to measure safe drivers, as it's a set of criteria completely divorced from the environment and conditions in which cars are actually driven.
For example, consider the “sudden braking” metric. If there are many sudden braking accidents, it will be treated as a negative score and your score will drop. However, while driving, the following things always happen: want Apply the brakes, and brake hard. If a child, deer, deer, dog, turtle, etc. suddenly jumps out in front of you, a safe driver would slam on the brakes. Soft and gentle braking do not have Although safe in these situations, the data collection does not seem to take into account the overall situation.
The same goes for sudden acceleration. Sometimes the safe bet is to quickly get out of the way of something. That means accelerating hard. In some cases, you may need to merge onto a faster highway from a short on-ramp. I remember his 134 and his 2 freeway sections around Pasadena, California being like that. If you don't accelerate quickly, you'll be putting yourself at risk. The car behind you is really at risk.
And let's not talk about the “late night driving” indicator. Some people work night shifts! Perhaps statistically more accidents occur during those hours, but there are also many legitimate and safe reasons to drive whenever you want.
Even average speed is deceptive. If most of your driving takes place on wide, open highways with speed limits of 70 or higher, should you be penalized for your high average speed?
Essentially, the problem here is that this type of driving score is trying to get drivers to drive to meet a set of criteria that has nothing to do with the actual driving situation they find themselves in. You should drive based on what's happening around your car. . If you can drive slowly and calmly, that's great, but if you need to react quickly to the conditions around your car, it's safer to do so. Any driving score on your phone is no good.
The truth is, none of this driving score bullshit is in the driver's best interest. Even if you could show your driving score in real-time on your dashboard so you could make the most of it, it wouldn't be of much use because the “score” has no meaning. The data your car secretly sends to your insurance company is actually useless. It exists because it can potentially benefit insurance companies, and we all know that.
If this is it Really For safety reasons, there is one thing that insurance companies should be aware of. did it Do: You can use the car's Bluetooth capabilities to pair with the driver's phone when entering the car, disabling that phone from most non-emergency uses. All you need to do is allow maps, navigation, music playback, and emergency calls. The biggest threat to safe driving today is distracted driving, and if insurance companies want driver safety, they can address that.
If a driver opts into such a program, the insurance company must: cut They pay significant premiums because they know their drivers won't be distracted by texting or watching live streams on TikTok or OnlyFans. The problem is that these programs have no way to increase premiums. So I guess it's not a starter.
Safe drivers adjust their driving to the real-world conditions surrounding their vehicle, not to insane gamed rules.
Cars, modern cars connected to the internet, are already known to be the worst offenders, with no respect for privacy in almost all of their products. No. Remember when we learned that Kia and Nissan reserved the right to know about their customers' “sexual activities”? This is bad! It's safest to assume that modern connected cars collect and sell as much data as legally possible. At the moment, it doesn't seem to include specific location data, but it does include the number of trips, driving time, date and time of occurrence, etc. It's depressing to think that this information will be sent to the insurance company to evaluate you, but it's to be expected. It's not really a secret once you start looking for it. LexisNexis He also issued a press release regarding it in 2022.
Car manufacturers, insurance companies, and LexisNexis aren't doing this for you. They are holding drivers to poor driving standards that are bound to hurt you someday. If you have a modern connected car, we encourage you to request a Consumer Disclosure Report from LexisNexis to see for yourself what data is being collected. You can also collect reports from Verisk, which works with GM, Hyundai, and Honda.
Or you can buy an attractive old car without using the internet at all. For example, if you want to track you down in a 1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza, have the bastards come looking for you in the car.