Note: at the bottom of the article is a link to our review of the Snapshot.
I have seen a large number of commercials recently for a new product from Progressive Insurance called Snapshot. Snapshot is a small device that you plug into the OBDII port of your car. Once plugged in, the Snapshot monitors your driving habits. Based on how carefully you drive you can qualify for up to a 30% discount on your auto insurance. Is this when we begin to slide down the slippery slope of allowing our driving habits to be remotely monitored 24/7? How much personal freedom are you willing to give up in order to save money on your insurance? Please read on and use the comments to debate whether this is the beginning of the end.
There are, or course, two sides to this story. The first is that you should be driving carefully, and that if you are you have nothing to worry about. Who cares about a large corporation knowing exactly how far and when you drive and how abruptly you accelerate and stop. This is the same argument that people use about giving up personal freedom to prevent things like terrorism. The “I’m not a terrorist, why should I worry about being stopped and searched” argument. The other side to the coin is that no one deserves to be looking over your shoulder and that in the US we live in a free country. I’m not planning to debate this argument here, but I would like to spend a little bit of time looking at whether this is a beginning of the loss of civil liberties behind the wheel. No longer is it a question of whether “Big Brother” can be watching. He or she most certainly is.
In a world where you most likely have multiple GPS capable devices in your car and you also use RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) tags in things like toll-road pay devices, it would be completely possible for federal and state governments to monitor your behaviors behind the wheel. Despite this ability, to date the only time this data is accessed and used is when there has been appropriate justification. Despite rumors, people are not receiving speeding tickets for having too high of an average speed on toll roads.
If you’re a truck driver or driving a company owned vehicle, you are dealing with a different set of rules. I with some folks at Penske Logistics about this topic. Penske has the ability to monitor their drivers through RFID and even know which places they enjoy stopping to eat. By accepting a job with the company, you forfeit your anonymity behind the wheel, as the company claims the right to monitor their equipment and employees.
Of course, the Snapshot in a voluntary program with Progressive. In addition, Progressive promises not to raise your rates (unless you live in Rhode Island) as a result of your driving habits. With that said, if enough people sign up could this be a first step towards this being a requirement for all of their policy holders? Quickly, lets review how the system works.
After being plugged into your car for 30 days you potentially start to receive a discount on your auto insurance of up to 30%. After the six months of driving with the device monitoring your car you send it back to Progressive. After this six month period Progressive no longer monitors your driving and your potential discount remains for the length of the policy. So far, I have not been able to find specifically what data the Snapshot captures, but similar tools are capable of capturing and reporting on a significant number of parameters. Some of these include:
- Trip start date and time
- Duration
- Distance
- Max speed
- Time in different speed bands
- Number of hard braking events
- Number of extreme braking events (sometimes classified as accidents)
- Number of hard acceleration events
- Time spent at idle
- Snapshots of speed at defined intervals
Progressive calls this policy a Pay As You Drive program a form of a usage-based insurance. They state that to get the greatest discount a driver needs to brake gently, drive less than the average driver, and minimize driving during rush hours and the time between midnight and 4:00 A.M.
Of note, Progressive isn’t the only company offering usage-based insurance. GMAC partners with GM’s OnStar subsidiary to offer potential discounts if you agree to allow OnStar to monitor your driving habits and report them back to the insurance company. State Farm offers an iPhone app that grades your driving, but at this stage, does not claim to report the results to the company, nor does it offer any kind of insurance discount for those who opt in.
So I would like to know. What are your thoughts on this type of technology and monitoring? Are you on the side of giving up some anonymity in order to save or would you like to keep government and large companies out of your personal behavior? Have your say below in the comments.
Sources: Progressive; Slashgear; CNET; Snopes; TheGadgeteer
Editor’s note: For the one-year anniversary of this article, we requested a Snapshot from Progressive to see for ourselves how it worked. Read our product review here.
i got the snap shot device thinking im gonna save myself money…. what a joke i plug in snap shot device start my car and my phone and ipod was pluged into the car charger. both started to vibrate then turned off. i took my phone to my cell carrier and they tell me a surge fried my brain in my phone, friday the place i sent my ipod to so they can fix calls me and tells me a surge fried my i pod both my phone and ipod were over $200.00 a piece and are unrepair able. i called progressive to tell them and told them if i dont get my money back for my phone or ipod that i have proof their device caused the surge that i will go to a different car insurance and they told me they have never heard of this happening and they will not repay me for my losses and i can feel free to go to another company if im not satisfied with theirs…. really THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF PEOPLE I WANT TO COUNT ON PAYING INCASE OF AN ACCIDENT..I was then told if i unplug the device and send it back that my rates go up.So please think twice before using this device and if anyone else has had something simular to my experience plz contact me at carly2109@aol.com if we get enough people we can start a class action lawsuit for our losses due to their device thats suppose to save us money not cost us money
just got off phone with progressive and after my 2nd call they finally gave me a claim number. its a start…. now if they pay me for the devices their snapshot device destroyed that total over $500.00 is another story. If they dont i can press felony charges because their device caused more than $500.00 worth of damages and i have reciepts for both my cell phone and ipod. i also have my cell carrier to back me that a surge fried my phone and apple that i sent my ipod to gave me a bill that says damage caused by surge. neither can be fixed i have to get new phone and ipod so lets hope progressive does the right thing and pays me for my losses if not they have lost my business and all of my family who goes through progressive for car and other ins. so to those wondering what exactly snap shot can do for you now you know it can fry any electronics in your car and not be responisible for them…im suppose to hear from someone by 5pm tomorrow ill let you know what if anything they are gonna do.
@carly jo whitmer – I fail to see how an unpowered device that plugs into your car’s diagnostic connector could cause a voltage spike that would destroy your iPod and cell phone. And unless the remedy you’re seeking is a $10 discount on insurance or something token like that, a class action lawsuit is probably the worst way to try to recover damages from them.
I’m not defending Progressive by any means, but just because a surge damaged your devices doesn’t mean that the Snapshot had anything to do with it. I note that you didn’t say that Apple and your cell phone carrier said the Progressive Snapshot caused the damage, but that a surge caused the damage. You need to be certain of what caused the surge or their lawyers will eat you alive.
And pressing felony charges? Please…
Nevertheless, I found a law firm that would probably love to take most of the settlement money from you and your class action suit: http://personalinjuryaccidentlaw.com/2011/11/progressives-snapshot-device-may-cause-battery-drainage-and-electrical-problems/
I watched the progressive snapshot commercials too and wondered if people were really desperate enough for a discount to let their personal space be invaded. As I have read I can see there are many who don’t mind at all. As for me and my family we believe that almost nothing is personal these days and YES big brother is watching over more than we may care to believe. So it blows my mind to know that there are people out there making it easier and even requesting to be watch over! Inviting it, for a discount.
This is another attempt by the government to steal our rights from us in an attempt to pursue New World Order. Please! Do not sign up for this product. The more people that do, and it proves effective, then the more likely it is that this product will be mandated for all US citizens. Pretty soon they’re watching us take a s@#t because the toilet paper made a device that saves you money if you let them monitor your toilet paper usage because research shows that when people are being monitored they use less toilet paper which saves paper, which saves trees, which saves the enviornment. So then it becomes “neccessary”. Bullsh#@! Stand for something or fall for anything. The Declaration of Independence states that those who are able to do something to save us all are responsible to do something. Thats exactly what I plan to do by spreading the word. Thanks for your time.
I drive about 5000 miles/year, so decided to try out Snapshot. The device installation was trivial and worked fine. After a month of driving with the device, Progressive applied some initial discount to my policy.
After 6 months, I got a mail from Progressive asking me to return the device, which I did. The discount stayed on my policy. It saved me 26%. I think the max savings they will give you based on snapshot is 29%.
The device does track the distance, time of driving, and deceleration. I don’t think it tracks the speed or location, although I could be wrong on this.
During the 6 months, the only problem I had with my car was my battery died, but that too was probably not related to the device. I went to Sears and they replaced the battery since it was on warranty.
Overall, I am happy with snapshot.
I remember the days when we piled 6 or 7 of us in a pickup truck, all in the back and headed down the highway. I remember a time when community was connected by friendship, spiritualism and trust. I remember a time when families utilized money for basic needs, then perhaps a movie on Saturday night, Sunday dinner at a good Chinese restaurant and a vacation or two especially for Dad who worked hard at the local neighborhood store which thanks to Corporate America is an endangered species. Monitor my driving? I do not think so….yes the tech world has it’s benefits but the negatives appear to be destroying the foundations and structure of this country. Tech interferes with your reality, your job, your transportation (Snapshot device as an example), and your ability to think as a person and expectancy to think as fast and as emotionless as a machine. America owes this all to Washington D.C. the District of Corruption, legalized criminals in office. we are addicted to money and this Insurance company is using this addiction to sell your life to be monitored…believe me folks, it only gets worse from here…these New Age MBA guys do not remember or are oblivious to the old days like the town of Mayberry, or the concept of democracy during the 13 colonies, which worked. Keep your gadgets and monitor your own corporate butts, leave what is left alone, stop the milking!!!
With NDAA, HR347, Patriot Act, EEA, and all the other governmental BS that infringes on privacy, the constitution, and the Bill of Rights, why the hell would anyone want to contribute to the fascistic police state in which we live to save a few bucks on car insurance? The way in which I drive is none of Progressive’s goddamn business. Enjoy being radiated or groped the next time you fly. Enjoy your ISP monitoring everything you browse. Enjoy the vast network of cameras watching your every move. We’re all outlaws now and I suggest we all start acting like outlaws before its too late. See you in Guantanamo.
I find this very disturbing… This is how it starts! They get your driving habits and tell you nobody with do anything with the information… Then The Gov.t gets a suppoena and tells the insurance co. to give up the information to uncle sam (For whatever reason). Very Disturbing!!!
Jan Kader: You nailed it!
The most disturbing part of this is the number of people who think these tactics have any place in the US of A.
If enough people paticipate in this program, it won’t be long before it is the industry standard. Then those who don’t want to participate will be charged higher-risk rates, or won’t get insurance at all.
It could get to the point where the common usage of this technology will, in the future, redefine what the courts consider “reasonable expectation of privacy” in a motor vehicle.
At least for now, you still get to vote with your dollars. I would strongly discourage the use of this technology. Persons that are offended by Progressive’s tactics should cancel their policies and tell them why they are losing your business. If their market share drops, they are more likely to discontinue the program. There are a lot of other insurance companies out there.
I installed the device and drove like an old lady worthy of sainthood for the entire period of time it was installed. Didn’t drive once in their “High Risk” times of day… basically had a perfect report (it allows you to monitor the report on their website). Guess what I was rewarded with?… a whopping 3% discount! This translates to my old monthly bill being $126 and my new one with discount applied being $122.
Total BS. I initially decided to try the snapshot program because my bill jumped from $104 to $126 a month for no apparent reason.
That is interesting. I wonder if the snapshot is also looking at the data stored in your car for the period prior to plugging it in to the car.
Snapshot is worthless. Both my wife and I installed the device a few months ago. We’ve just been denied a discount We couldn’t have been braking any softer. We havent driven a fon of miles and stayed within acceptable driving times for the most part. The report showed a ton of hard brakes. Not only that, but it reported driving during times when no driving occurred and vice versa. Everything was jumbled up. I’m supposed to trust this device? I feel like I’ve been scammed to switch over to progressive wih the lure of a discount which was never going to happen in the first place. Plus I’ve been monitored. I feel like a fool now for allowing big brother into my car and contributing to this mess.
1st place this is not a government program. this has nothin to do with patriot act.
2nd @ GW Hayduk the way you drive is the insurance busines hence the a car insurance.
3rd pple that gets less then 30% discount no one believes you drive like a saint
I have heard this was at least partially funded as a pilot program by DHS. Any truth to that?
The vast majority of collisions and wrecks, especially on the freeway, are caused by sudden unexpected events, not measurable quantities such as speed, acceleration, time, or distance. In other words, the largest risk factor is and always will be poor judgment. We see this manifested in the inability to merge smoothly at freeway speeds, in attempts to pass on the right, in riding the brakes, in “rubbernecking”, in chronic distractability, and of course in driving under the influence.
Judgment cannot be monitored from a device. Therefore risk mitigation is not the true goal here, let alone the illusory promise of discounts. This is a conditioning project, an attempt to introduce surveillance. What can be monitored today can be managed tomorrow. The technology exists; the question is when and how it will be applied.
Compare and contrast this program with the promotion of “smart” electric meters for private homes. That, too, has its proponents as well as its unthinking adherents.
DO NOT DO IT, it does record speed! I do not brake hard but it shows three hard brakes in two days. I drive an xterra and you have to press the brakes hard to stop. Here is what it is capturing! Once again dont do it, unless you live in the sticks you will not get the discount!
Trip Details Log for 2005 Nissan Xterra
Speed
This chart shows the speed of your vehicle at various points of your trip(s). It is for reference only and is not used to calculate your discount.
Friday, 04/27/2012
Date
Trips
Driving time (hr:min:sec)
Mileage
Hard brakes
Speed chart
[+]Friday, 04/27/2012
1
00:23:51
10.2
1
[+]Thursday, 04/26/2012
11
02:10:55
52.26
2
Just as sleazy is the safe driver discounts that these companies offer. It’s NOT a discount, since they can and do check our driving history to begin with. It’s a surcharge that gets reduced if I have no claims under their policy over a period of several years. It just would not bode well to sell it as “We overcharge you for a few years, then bring you down to the rate you should have had in the 1st place.”
People will fall for any gimmick though.
My son installed the snapshot in both his vehicles. Chevy s10 blazer and Honda accord. After using them for a month, now both vehicles are having abs sensor problems. It’s throwing a fault code and can only be checked and reset by a dealership. At a cost of 80 dollars each. Is anyone else having this issue after using the snapshot?
This program assumes you are guilty until proven innocent – not exactly American. In the eyes of Progressive – YOU ARE A CRIMINAL !!!!
Except in very extreme cases, this device will not prevent any accidents. It only serves as an electronic leash held by Flo in one hand – in the other hand she is holding a whip. Although Flo may seem sexy, you eventually find out she is a cruel and unsympathetic shrew. Yes, sometimes fantasy is better than realiity.
For me, 99% of the time I drive like a saint. the other 1% of the time – I express my freedom. Almost ALL accidents are caused by lapse in attention during periods of boredom … not the time of day or speed at which you travel. In fact, accidents mostly occur when you are so bored, you are not paying attention to what’s happening around you on the road – when you need to be at your most alert !!!!! Driving is NOT the time when you should be lacksadaisically going through the motions of operating a two ton hunk of metal with 120mph approach speeds with oncoming traffic.
What I’m saying is … your driving and accident record should be clear enough indicators to your insurance company of what kind of driver your really are.
Fortunately non of my vehicles qualify since they dont have obdII. This is a gimmick – I would only install this on a teen-ager’s car to keep them honest.
I’m truck driver and all of my actions are monitored 24 hrs every day i must say 4 wheelers should be monitored too because most of you just don’t pay enough attention , every day I drive 400 to 600 miles and se 2 or 3 accidents it’s just getting worse out here on the roads people please slow down and don’t cut in front of trucks right after you pass them it takes almost 500 feet for the truck to stop so give us some space and also we canot all ways move over when you coming on the interstate because someone is on our left and you don’t see that . Car drivers you are little cranky baby’s who needs to be monitored even when garaged , when you get a CDL license then you should get a break on your insurance because then you are a professional driver and you will turn your blinker every time you change lanes or making turn. Car drivers you should be monitored for all of your maintnace records too because your cheap fixes are falling apart and hitting my truck and puncturing my tires. Car drivers you should not drive at all until you complete minimum 40 hrs with instructor .
I’ve had experience with similar devices (VAG-COM) – your ABS system has experienced an unrelated fault IMHO. What was the error code teh dealers had to reset BTW?
Is it possible your sensors have become clogged with metalic dust – especially if you drove both vehicles through areas with high levels of brake dust recently (like steep mountain passes). It is highly unlikely the Snapshot device caused an ABS error, otherwise everyone with OBDII would be reporting the same issue.
http://autorepair.about.com/od/regularmaintenance/ss/abs_sens_cln.htm
Of course I want the government out of my business. I know this has something to do with or associated with the mark of the beast that will be implamented in the near future. I would never buy this device to monitor anything I do in my own car.
I use to have Geico Insurance on my vehicle when an animal jumped in front of my car causing what geicos estimate was $3500 in damage. (was repaired for $1000) I had full coverage with $100 deductible and my rate was $58 a month. They raised my insurance to $140 a month and that was with $2000 deductible. I’m in my 40′s and have nothing on my record but maybe a speeding ticket 5 years ago. I left Geico mad as hell. Progressive started me at $80 a month same coverage I had before, wasn’t happy but i took it. I signed up for snapshot drove for a month and now my payment is at $58 again. Couldn’t be happier. Do I like companies monitoring me? NO WAY. I HATE IT. But I can’t deny the discount I get is appealing.
I should add one scarry thing about snapshot is, when your in a panic I NEED TO HIT THE BRAKES situation, I hesitate for a split second knowing that snapshot is going to record this situation. This could actually cause an accident, I don’t know.
I like to speed and the chart shows your speed, I told my wife to drop it down from 80 MPH to 70 MPH as a top speed. Her car registered 80 MPH for the first week, then 70MPH with occasional spikes higher when I’m driving her car and forget. I think my Mini spiked near 90MPH once when I was getting in front of a Porsche that didn’t want to let
me merge on an onramp.
I also don’t drive my Mini everyday as I travel sometimes and I don’t use her on the weekends. She also leaves for work at 8:30am or later. I usually leave for work after 9am and am home before 5pm. We never drive after midnight as we have a 4 yo and just don’t do that anymore. Why are these times important? 9am-5pm is low risk hours, 12am-5am is high risk, all else is medium risk. Accidents are more frequent in high risk times for obvious reasons. Its not just how hard you brake, its also how often you drive, how many registered stops(shut off the car) and what time of the day/night you drive that counts to the equation.
After 30 days, both cars got 30% off. Which equals $200 a year for both cars. I guess I’ll keep it in until they ask for it back so I can keep my savings.
Yes, this is like spying while driving. I have a couple concern’s over this issue and device. When the device is no longer needed and is sent back to Progressive Ins. what happens to the information the device collected or sent? Is it saved? is it passed on to big brother and made available so other ins. co. can start to demand that all drivers have something similar? In the event that a person would have to brake hard to avoid animals, another vehicle doing wrong, bicycles cutting in and out of traffic, pedestrians walking off the sidewalk from between parked cars, and many other likewise situations will it record that? ( NO ) Would you be able to or even be given the opportunity to explain it away? If you were given the chance to be heard, the next question of course would be, can you prove it, most likely not. The next thing for your own protection from the device that was meant to save you money, would be to have a dash-cam. Also, they recommend not driving between midnight and 4 A.M. What if you work those hours? I really don’t see that an Ins. Co. is going to listen to any sort of good reasoning from the consumer if you can’t prove it. In my opinion the end result will be other Ins. Co. wanting the same. When will they come up with a device that monitors what you do around the home. This of course would be an attempt to collect information for lower health Ins. Do people really want to see something like coming our way. What time do you go to bed? what kind of food do you eat? Do you brush your teeth regularly? Think about it. Very bad idea.
The snapshot device killed my BMW’s computer. I had to pay $2500 to repair my car. Many sensors in the car got damaged! I don’t recommend anyone trying this crappy device!
So I keep reading all of these related commenst; electrical issues, batteries dying, sensors, etc. and there ALWAYS seems to be some person saying “no way, it’s related”! Well I call BS!! I tried Snapshot in both of my vehicles (2006 Isuzu & 2009 Hyundia). BOTH have issues now! Coincidence? I don’t think so. Yeah, maybe the blower motor control sensor going out in my older vehicle was due to age BUT when I get into my 2009 (bought Aug 2009) and start the vehicle and Everything starts flickering and dinging, COME ON!!! Now I have battery issues or is it a fuel relay? All I know is the car would start just fine without any hesitation before that STUPID sensor. Now who knows if it’s going to start or not. I guess I’ll get some guy giving a rebutle that it couldn’t have been the sensor. No I haven’t contacted Progressive, just dropped their insurance anyway. BUT beware, this little module has caused many people issues!
@Bobby, if the car problems started after you plugged in your snapshot device then you should call progressive. I too do not believe it’s all a coincidence. I too have a 2009 car & since plugging in the device I’ve had to replace two batteries & now I need a new alternator. Progressive have since refunded me for one battery & I’m working with an agent to have my car repaired at their expense. They will not know/recognize that there’s an issue with their device unless everyone reports them.
It isn’t “Big Brother” watching you when it is a private company, unless they give their collected data directly to the government. Also, because using a company is voluntary (unless the government forces you to use one, such as the impending healthcare law does,) they are not impeding on your rights. People are often confused about the Consitution and what exactly it protects. It is a document that protects us from government, not private institutions. This is important to remember. A company should be able to put whatever rules and limits they’d like on their product, just as we should be able to choose whether or not we accept those rules. No rights are violated here.
@ Paul…. I drive a 04 Honda Accord and noticed that the Snapshot stopped working/tracking driving info at the exact same time that my ABS light came on. We have plugged in a Code Reader to the port and it lists link-error… Never gotten that before, so now the port doesn’t even seem to be working. I’m thinking that the problems arising from plugging in the Snapshot device are NOT worth the potential savings…
You’re all nuts. If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. Get off your soap boxes.
Go outside.
DO NOT get theprogressive snapshot. i had one and all it did was short out my dianostic system and kill my car. i had to spend a small fortune to get my car fixed and now i’m in the process of filing a law suit against progressive for the damages. I REPEAT DO NOT GET THE SNAPSHOT IT IS A HAZARD TO YOUR CAR AND WILL COST YOU MONEY IN THE END
I had this in my vehicle. After a while my vehicle started having problems running correctly, the check engine light came on and then my SRS light came on (just driving down the road, I’ve never hit anything with my vehicle) and then one day completely quit. I took it to my local garage, the found what they thought was the problem and replaced that part, but everytime they started the vehicle it would blow fuses and the check engine light would turn back on. Finally after a couple of hours of messing with it they happened to leave the “Snapshot” out of the plug in… started just fine, didn’t blow any fuses, and the check engine light didn’t turn on. When they plugged it back in it messed up my van again. The mechanics told me not to plug that back into my vehicle and take it out of any vehicles I have it in. Since then my SRS has stayed on, and my check engine light will come on and go off whenever it feels like it. The only thing my mechanics can figure out is that they “Snapshot” messed my computer up and they can put a new one in. I have a Honda. I can’t afford a new computer for that thing. Thanks Progressive. You can bite me. That all happened back in April/May, anyone know if it would be worthwhile to go after Progressive for damages?
if there’s one thing I’ve learned… it’s that once data is collected, it’s there FOREVER. I know that insurance companies share databases on claims, driving records, etc. If you think this information is only going to be used by Progressive, think again. And that’s before you get to the device causing electrical problems in your car. That alone would have to be disproven to me, or Progressive provide a written warranty with acceptable terms for fixing whatever “snapshot” screws up. And as someone said, if one company gets away with it, all of them will be doing it before long. If you need cheaper insurance, just go shopping… which I do almost every year anyway. Many of them suck you in the first year with a cheap rate, then just keep raising the price every time you have to renew your policy… until you get pissed off and go shopping for a better rate. Sorry… It’s all about profit, and they’ve all learned how to play each others games.
I tried the Snapshot thing on my wife’s car. She drives like an old lady and only drives the kids to school and does shopping trips on the weekend. That adds up to only about 10 miles of driving on average per day, no speeding and only a couple hard brakes, but somehow we still didn’t qualify for any discounts.
I’m thinking that this snapshot program is for cars that are rarely driven. They can justify lowering your insurance if they know for sure that your car is rarely used. So if you have a car that sits in the driveway 95% of the week, go for it, but otherwise I doubt it’s really worth it.
We totally need something like this! Has anyone seen the number of totally awful drivers out there?? A simple device that lets me convey to my insurance company that I am NOT one of those doofuses flying down the road at 100 mph, accelerating too rapidly and stopping too quickly, and in the process saving me money is just fine by me.
Paranoia is a sickness. Realize you are one in 300 million people and no large corporation cares about any SPECIFIC person enough to track your boring, meaningless life as you drive to work and back. Safety in numbers, my friends. They care about generalities and sure, they will use the specific info to tailor a price to you, but they do not give a flying-fork about what most people do with their utterly empty lives.
Can you imagine a “big-brother” spending his work-week closely watching the life of Joe Schmo as he goes to the factory for his shift, hits the bar, has 2 kids, gets divorced, gets laid-off, gets re-hired for a worse job, remarries, divorces again, retires with less money than he thought, and dies with a total of zero people caring? Paranoid people miss the fact that they simply aren’t important enough to worry about tracking.
I despise the Progressive Snap-shot ads. I hated the first one but the second is worse. I like Flo, as I find her amusing, but the bottom line is that she is not a rocket scientist, she’s is a clerk. Actually I am beginning to wonder if she isn’t a government agent disguised as a bimbo. So she has the power to stop the world for a moment and Big Sister is now in total control. When I see this ad I don’t know if I am in the middle of an episode of the original “Outer Limits”, or Big Brother George Orwellian style, has climbed out from under his rock. Wake up America.
Insurance Companies are all battling each other for your money. They are crawling under your skin like maggots and finding their way into your brain with their little bits of humor, and people love it. We have cameras on the streets, credit cards, driver’s licenses, and even library cards with little magnetic strips on them that just might know more about you than you do. Companies want you to bundle your phone, computer and televisions with the idea of saving money. In short you can’t communicate with the outside world, without someone knowing your every move thought or deed, should they so desire to take a peek. Now you want to hand them your car key too? What’s next, access to your home? Wait a minute I think they already have that!
Fast food restaurants are being forced by the government to change their menus because we are all so stupid we need them to monitor our food consumption. They will tell you that it is for the children’s sake, which says that you can’t do the job. If you let them get away with this than I guess you are in agreement. Speaking of children, the powers that be are also telling you what you can and can’t do with or for your off-spring. I am not talking about the crazies that do unspeakable things….I am speaking of normal discipline that is now coming under scrutiny. Those that think this is fine are either too lazy or too busy to do the job themselves. Rock and Roll!!
We are loosing our rights and freedom one cutesy humorous laugh at a time. And the crowds cheer….or roll over and go back to sleep.
The SnapShot device is fun.
The chart shows us how fast
we drove from one place to
another, and how long the
trip took.
We have 4 cars using SnapShot
on our Progressive policy.
These are our hobby cars –
just for fun. A different
insurance policy with a
different insurance company
handles our 5 regular,
every-day cars. So
sometimes weeks can go by
when we don’t even start
the engine of a car with
a SnapShot device in it.
And when we do drive one of
those cars, we often don’t
exceed 25 miles per hour.
We live in a rural area,
in a county without any
traffic signals, so we
can press the gas and brake
pedals as gently as we please.
We drive an average of
18 miles a week, net,
on all 4 cars combined.
Three of our 4 cars got the
full 30% discount, but one
of the cars seems to get
eight times as many hard
brakes as the other 3. We
don’t drive it any differently.
So we suspect it might be a
problem with the ABS speed
sensor on one of the wheels.
In any case, this particular
car only gets a 26% discount.
Look, we moved to the country
to enjoy life at a slower pace.
We took a pay cut to live where
the economy is struggling just
to get out of the rat race.
We drive slowly, we never
tailgate, we coast several
blocks to the next stop sign.
We stop for pedestrians
and equestrians and wildlife.
Locking the wheels for a
black squirrel last week
cost me a hard brake. So what!
If we had chosen to live in
a crowded place with lots of
traffic, then we would expect
to pay more for insurance.
As a Libertarian, you can be
sure that my Big Brother
issues are abundant, but the
Progressive SnapShot device
is not one of them.
Hi All,
What an interesting amount of paranoia around this subject!
A voluntary act on your part (choosing to use the Snapshot) does not constitute spying on your insurance companies’ part.
If you drive like a maniac then don’t try it.
All insurance rates are based on statistics….
If you are a conscientious driver that drives less than the norm (statistically), you may qualify for a lower rate, IF you DO NOT fit into the statistics that include the probability that many drivers ARE maniacs.
It is just like anything else in life, you get what you put into it.
Regards,
Jack.
P.S. By the way, if your own/use a cell phone, use a credit card, have bank account or use a computer on the internet, YOU ARE BEING WATCHED, so disconnect from society or just get over it….
Ok, so I realize that most people here are very anti-big brother… but why are we so up in arms about this? What do you care if someone is watching where you are going? Are you ashamed of going to McDonalds too many times in one day? I honestly feel that there are so many bad drivers out there (frequently those that think they are good drivers, to be honest I am probably an average driver) someone does need to keep people in line. Police are short-handed as it is. Unless you are doing something illegal I honestly dont understand the fear. If anyone would like to know, I will be driving to McDonalds around 3:30pm to get a big mac and fries, followed by a trip to the volleyball court to play until around 7-8pm, and then finally I will be heading over to my girlfriends house for the night… Oh no, I think I have said too much… better get in the bunker and ride this one out…
I have snapshot for 2 day,s. on my Nissan path finder and suzuki esteem. Or first day. My wife drive the Suzuki had 4 hard brakes. The Nissan pathfinder 0 hard brake. My opinion on the hard braking. The Nissan car has abs and the Suzuki does not have abs. Also I drive like a old lady and as a truck driver. Old lady drive,s like a Sunday driver and the truck driver needs long distance braking. And I brake to carefully. So I can feel the brake pad touching the rottor and sqees carefully till the Nissan stop. I,m 32 years old and feel a stupid old lady. Just to see how much discount I can get. Driving in a bizzy city. But today I had to brake hard. Because a other driver cut me off right befor the stop light. So I had to step on the brake I hear 3 peeps that indicate my hard braking. Thanx bro to mess up my progressif driving skill lol.
I personally would NOT let someone plaace a device on my car, however, that does not come close to your anology to terroists… we’re talking about a possible minimal monetary saving to keeping us all safe…
09/05/2012- I just wanted to post my experience with the snapshot too, so future users can have something to refer to. We have 2 cars (a 2010 Scion TC and a 2010 Hyundai Sante Fe) and we’ve had some issues as well. The Scion is just fine so far. The only thing I’ve noticed is a semi heavy drag on the engine when the AC is on, but that just might be because it’s AC (I haven’t had the vehicle long enough to know for sure since I bought it used certified from a Nissan Dealership). The Sante Fe is the one that we’ve had issues with. I don’t know what that device is doing, but every time we plugged it into the SUV, ALL of the warning lights would turn on and the gear shift (on our automatic vehicle) would lock in place. So, in essence, it was not possible to drive unless we manually were to override the gear shift, but as soon as we’d unplug the snapshot, the car would go back to normal. We tried it maybe about 10 different times, trying different combinations of starting the vehicle and installing the device, but it never failed to freak out on us. It was no fluke, the device definately does not work with our car, and snapshot help line said they had never heard of such a thing happening and told us to send it back. About 2-3 weeks later, our SUV started lurching into gears, but it was speratic and rare, so we ignored it thinking it was a fluke and that it fixed itself. Unfortuately, last weekend, it got worse. It now randomly drops gears, switches to neutral at high speeds, and tends to jump from 2nd to 4th gear with a horrible slamming sound. It runs at either high rpms or low rpms and fast excellerations tend to trigger it, and you can forget about switching the car to the manual shifter. It says you’re shifting gears, but the rpms say you’re definately not switching gears and it just makes the whole ordeal 10 times worse. It is currently at the dealership and it’s “under warrenty”, so we are not currently persuing progressive. I just wanted to put this out there for future cases of cars freaking out. Hyundai is currently flummoxed as to what is wrong with the Sante Fe, and it’s apparently being inspected by their top corporate people. I hope this helps future people with similar situations.
Well, I tried this device and I was just informed that I had ‘flunked’. Flunking is not something that I have ever taken lightly, although I should in this case. I was able to tell when the ‘device’ was not happy with my driving- it beeped when I would break too hard in its estimation. Driving like an ‘old lady’ is not something that works for me when competing for lane spots in an urban environment. Ah well, I will pay the going rate to be able to drive the way that works for me. Wow, I just realized that I am not perfect after all.
Snapshot……It is here to stay, even if the program fails and seemingly disappears, it will resurface in some other shape or form.
Fact: Everywhere you go or will go, someone other than you knows you have been there.
Fact: Every key stroke on a computer, be it at home or work, can be recorded and used for purposes you are not aware of.
Fact: G.P.S is a very useful tool, most useful if you are law enforcement.
Reality: We live in a world where our children are prey, our very names are sold as commodities by advertisers. We live in a world where paper money is all but obsolete in the wake of online banking. Where all the worlds currency is just an electronic blip on a computer screen. This is progress, the genie has been let out the bottle and the bottle is crushed, good or bad Snapshot or no…. Choose wisely because for the time being the choice is ours.
The only sheeple here agreeing this snapshot monitoring device is a good idea, I strongly suspect are plants for the insurance companies. Giving any insurance company permission to monitor your driving is tantamount to letting the fox guard the hen house. DON’T DO IT!!!!!
Well I have little knowledge about the module but I do have a lot of knowledge about what is done with data collected on you. That becomes a very marketable piece of information. The possibilities are endless. Your information could be shared with just about anyone. Your life insurance cost might mysterious go up. People might see you as a risk and not lend you money unless you buy insurance (yes that is illegal but so are a lot things), you could end up on some risk database that employers could pay to gain access too. What I am saying is you don’t know what happens to the information collect once it has been collected and how it may be used to sold.
This is very scary information. Especially if you are involved in a serious accident and a smart lawyer sees that you have Progressive Insurance and asks if you have been involved in the snapshot program and request to see your driving record and maybe sees a history of your bad driving habits.