Big Brother is Watching you!
- Thread starter darkk
- Start date
66HertzClone
ALLIANCE MEMBER
There is another company offering this now, I read a review about it in Automobile magazine I think. The writer said he could here a click from the device on rapid starts and stops. At the end of the test time a rep from the agency reviewed the recorded data with him, there were many hard stops. These indicated he was abrupt in the driving nature and would have been considered a risky driver. The columnist speculated that he would have gotten a better score if he went thru yellow and red lights rather than stopping as he did.
metaleltr
Well-known member
Yep progressive has the same thing. Scares me because they could just as easily increase you insurance because you accelerated too quickly or turned too fast. Theoretically this device could access as much information as a Snap-On scan tool, showing them every aspect of your vehicle's operation.
carhunter
Well-known member
in this case, only if you let them
(and can a corporation be counted as big brother?)
signcrafter
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 9, 2012
- Messages
- 12,454
I saw a commercial on TV the other, I thought it was allstate or progressive that had something similar. I joked with the girlfriend that if she installed one in her car her insurance would triple instead of saving anything!
carhunter
Well-known member
$10 says there's is already, or will soon be, a hack for this. Plug the device into a laptop, and it will download simulated driving data that optimizes the discount parameters.
There's always a smarter mouse...
I read not long ago that several insurance companies were lobbying the government to make it mandatory for auto makers to install a device like this on every new car for monitoring purposes. I can't believe they're trying to get AARP to convince all the older drivers to agree to it. Once they have a foot hold it won't be long before it becomes the norm...
jzt
Well-known member
It is becoming the norm. Progressive has had it for a few years now.
I would love to see hacks for it.
I would love to see hacks for it.
oldgoat
Well-known member
I don't consider this big brother actually. It is a way for the insurance company to monitor your driving and maybe offer you lower insurance rates. But it is your choice at least for now I guess. Depending on how sensitive the settings are it might not be that big a deal for some drivers, but for some that like to corner a little hard or stop a little fast it could be a big oops. Of course maybe if you get some kind of notice that you are doing it then it might correct some bad habits.
GaryB1
Well-known member
I have been amazed at friends who want to "Get government off our backs, but willingly accept the same things from corporations." One SIL told me that a corporation can be trusted because Fox News told her so! I tried to tell her that if big government is bad so is big business.
38Chevy454
Well-known member
The beginning of the slippery slope........... Although Progressive already has it.
Guess I will keep driving my old cars with no computers, can't record what isn't there to accept it.
Guess I will keep driving my old cars with no computers, can't record what isn't there to accept it.
zacker01
Well-known member
GaryB1, tell her most of big brothers "Badness" comes from big business!! This thing is just another way for the Ins. companies to use as a tool to raise bills, not lower them. Once this thing is in full swing you hear of people being denied Ins. payouts because they were going too fast into a turn or didnt stop right or some BS... its just a bad, bad thing, like the "Smart" appliances that relay your power usage to the power companies.. data they say they use to study energy use in your area...yeah, your area being, your house!!!
koditten
Well-known member
I think this thing would be the answer for your teen drivers. Just gut the thing and plug it in. Tell the kid that if they remove it the insurance will go up. The kids don't need to know that the dongus is not actually recording their driving habits.
KO
KO
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
Big brother? Ha! That is nothing compared to what the city knows about you...
Did you know if you have a toll tag that you are being tracked as your drive around town, even if you are not on the toll ways? Big cities use that information to help with traffic flows and such...
Did you know in some cities that your CELL PHONE gives anonymous information to the traffic centers? They use that to figure out where accidents are and such.
Did you know if you have a toll tag that you are being tracked as your drive around town, even if you are not on the toll ways? Big cities use that information to help with traffic flows and such...
Did you know in some cities that your CELL PHONE gives anonymous information to the traffic centers? They use that to figure out where accidents are and such.
Kind of going out on a limb, but what kills me is people complain about invasion of privacy or big brother watching, yet sign up for Facebook and post personal info, pictures, where they are going, what they are doing for the whole world to see!! THATS SOME DUMB ****!!
I have no patients for the whole Facebook deal, I think its ridiculous
I tell people all the time when they are taking pictures of me, or my family DO NOT PUT THAT ON FACEBOOK, you DO NOT have my permission
I have no patients for the whole Facebook deal, I think its ridiculous
I tell people all the time when they are taking pictures of me, or my family DO NOT PUT THAT ON FACEBOOK, you DO NOT have my permission
Shopshirt Mofo
Member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 21
Most people will let corporations do things that they fear their governments doing. I recently took a CIS class and their was actually a group that advocated allowing corporations free access to all of our data.
If you have an android phone your GPS data is fed into their traffic app. Most people put information on Facebook that they normally wouldn't allow organizations to access. Information about family, friends, their children...yet eagerly give the company the right to use their information, data, and photos in any manner they wish.
If you have an android phone your GPS data is fed into their traffic app. Most people put information on Facebook that they normally wouldn't allow organizations to access. Information about family, friends, their children...yet eagerly give the company the right to use their information, data, and photos in any manner they wish.
bfarroo
Well-known member
I love how they always say Save 350 dollars! Well I don't pay 350 dollars a year so does that mean they are going to pay me! It only ever seems to be viable for high risk drivers that are already spending 1,000's on insurance.
Gary S
Well-known member
It is all part of the future. The average US citizen today wants a babysitter to take care of them, so the government, your insurance company, and every other service is geared to do just that.
This "tool" is nothing new. Your new car already has that ability in the ECM. GM cars have Onstar to monitor your driving habits, track you, and even listen to what you say inside your car. Your cellphone tracks you every minute you have it turned on with its GPS and the company records of everything you do.
Until people are willing to step up and start taking care of themselves again and refuse all this spying in their lives, it will get worse every year.
This "tool" is nothing new. Your new car already has that ability in the ECM. GM cars have Onstar to monitor your driving habits, track you, and even listen to what you say inside your car. Your cellphone tracks you every minute you have it turned on with its GPS and the company records of everything you do.
Until people are willing to step up and start taking care of themselves again and refuse all this spying in their lives, it will get worse every year.
carhunter
Well-known member
You 'n' me both!
Don't all cars have event data recorders in them now? I think it started around 2008 or so?
I'm really not paranoid about it though - there's so much data that its really of little use to anyone right now. Who cares where you were at 11 am last wednesday? Anyone who really wants to know could find out with a few minutes of good old fashioned detective work.
Maybe some good could come of it - improved traffic flow, better traffic light timing...Imagine if we could use tools like adaptive cruise control to actually eliminate traffic jams?
Then again, I really don't like being told what to do
Gary S
Well-known member
Yes, they do, and that was one of the things I was pointing out. All newer cars and newer cellphones are totally trackable all day every day. And, yet, people choose to accept that.
Worse yet, people go out on the internet on Facebook and similar sites and post all their private information for the world to use.
Cryptic1911
Well-known member
They would **** bricks when they got my report
cyamaha2007
Well-known member
Omg help us.metaleltr
Well-known member
cars already have an event data recorder that record crash information and save it when airbags deploy
1948
Well-known member
onstar ect is a scary thing, if you dont pay your bill on time, they will just shut your car down. and if you have an emergency where you need to drive, you can kiss your *** goodbye.
Racecarl
Well-known member
If you don't want big brother watching, don't drive a truck,
JasonW
Well-known member
If the insurance company wants to know how I drive, could they please just check my driving record?! Truthfully, around here, if you drive the speed limit on a major highway you are MORE likely to cause an accident because everyone is swerving to get around you. So what is more telling, the lack of accidents because I exceed the speed limit or a stupid data recorder that only knows the speed limit is 65. The other day I had a long drive home with a large piece of equipment in the back. I was driving 60 in the slow lane and felt like a duck in open water during hunting season. Zing, zing, fortunately no crash, bang.
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JasonW
Well-known member
Seriously? That doesn't sound right.
Super Sport
Well-known member
It amazes me some of the ignorant comments people post.Luckily, the feature the OP posted is optional. I refuse to have such an item installed on my car. Although, it would be fun to get one and hack it. You think I could set it so I drive a constant 25 mph for 24/7?
As for cellphones and everything else tracking me, it doesn't bother me much. I don't like being spied on, but I have nothing to hide. If somebody really wants to waste their time spying on me, they can feel free to waste their time doing so. Watching soap operas would be a much more interesting hobby.
JasonW
Well-known member
As a side note, I read an article today that suggested that Google's automated cars would have a hard time catching on because only the wealthy will be able to afford them and no one who can will want to be driving the slowest vehicle on the road.
RivennHewn
Well-known member
My state is looking at a tax based on a mandatory GPS in every vehicle.
Then they charge you for every mile.
The bonus is, they know everything about where you've been.
Big brother? I'll be moving
Then they charge you for every mile.
The bonus is, they know everything about where you've been.
Big brother? I'll be moving
This is "Big Brother": http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_21095536/bay-area-drivers-could-pay-drive-each-mile
Bay Area residents are a bunch of Lemmings so I suspect it will fly there.
Bay Area residents are a bunch of Lemmings so I suspect it will fly there.
ZRX61
Well-known member
Wait, people still use Progressive? Didn't realize there were so many 0bama fans on here...
ZRX61
Well-known member
Source?
mmack66
Well-known member
Why wouldn't they just discontinue the OnStar service?
If what you say is true, and such a situation happens, one lawsuit, and the ensuing negative publicity, would be enough for OnStar to have a new owner.
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
I think that is false. Not paying your onstar bill is most definitely NOT grounds for them disabling your vehicle... That's like if you don't pay your electric bill the power company will lock you out of your house.
Although that is another service... Onstar I'm sure tracks people all day long and gives anonymous data to 3rd parties for traffic statistics...
Although that is another service... Onstar I'm sure tracks people all day long and gives anonymous data to 3rd parties for traffic statistics...
trainer
Well-known member
But in theory, it is possible (and the technology is in place) for big brother to disable your car if, for example, you didnt make a car payment, or insurance payment, or had unpaid parking tickets, or your licence tags expired, or your ex reported that you missed a child support payment, or the check engine light came on and you may be polluting.
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