Big daddy State Farm is watching

[audreyh1]

Off topic, but related to Tesla monitoring:

I was at the dermatologist today, and in conversation the LPN working with me mentioned she was in FL for a sports tournament with her daughter. One of the other families drove down in their Tesla. On the drive back, she said the dad was put in "Tesla Jail". Apparently he tried to fool the auto-drive system so he could do other things, and got 2 warnings before "it" just shut down the system and made him manually drive all the way back to STL.

Yes, you really can’t do that. And shouldn’t either, jeez. But I guess some people can’t resist. It will suspend Traffic Aware Cruise Control and auto steer until you park somewhere.

I actually have to put a little torsion on the yoke if we’re driving long straight sections because I guess the weight of my hands is not enough. On curvy bits my hands are naturally resisting the wheel changes so it’s not a issue.

 

[Chuckanut]

State Farm offered me a discount of “up to 5%” if I agreed to attach a monitoring device to my car. I declined.

 

[CardsFan]

Yes, you really can’t do that. And shouldn’t either, jeez. But I guess some people can’t resist. It will suspend Traffic Aware Cruise Control and auto steer until you park somewhere.

I actually have to put a little torsion on the yoke if we’re driving long straight sections because I guess the weight of my hands is not enough. On curvy bits my hands are naturally resisting the wheel changes so it’s not a issue.

I guess it "neglected" to tell him he could just park for a while and reset it.
On a serious note, I fully agree this was a stupid thing to do, and glad the car can react to it.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

This may be too simple.

Leave your phone home while you're driving.

 

[aja8888]

This may be too simple.

Leave your phone home while you're driving.

Just turn it off.

 

[old medic]

We have annual state inspections in TX that records your odometer. But I don’t know if that information is available to the public, and I’ve never heard of our insurance companies using it.

Most Carfax reports will have that info on it and the Insurance company has your Vin #.

 

[dixonge]

Carfax data collection sources shows you how they know about your car:

"CARFAX gets information from more than 131,000 state vehicle bureaus, automotive auctions, insurance companies, vehicle repair and service businesses, rental agencies, inspection agencies, and much more throughout the U.S. and Canada."

Those sources are also available to insurance companies, of course.

Teslas are unique in that they are sending and receiving data any time they have an internet connection. Tesla insurance will know a *LOT* about your driving habits. If you are a good driver, this *should* benefit you greatly on your insurance rates.

 

[audreyh1]

Carfax data collection sources shows you how they know about your car:

"CARFAX gets information from more than 131,000 state vehicle bureaus, automotive auctions, insurance companies, vehicle repair and service businesses, rental agencies, inspection agencies, and much more throughout the U.S. and Canada."

Those sources are also available to insurance companies, of course.

Teslas are unique in that they are sending and receiving data any time they have an internet connection. Tesla insurance will know a *LOT* about your driving habits. If you are a good driver, this *should* benefit you greatly on your insurance rates.

Yes, if I buy Tesla Insurance I expect a lot of information about my driving to be collected and used to generate my driving score each month, which then determines my insurance rate for the next month. This is well known. A lot of people do use it.

Just because Tesla cars have a live data connection I doubt a lot of live raw car data is sent and collected all the time. That would not be efficient. I suspect the car is running whatever algorithms are used and sending results.

 

[JoeWras]

I get the smog check as that is in the government data base. But how exactly did they know you got your oil changed?

I change my own oil and when I'm done, I dutifully enter it into the Big Insurance Database In The Sky. /sarcasm

I'm Illinois born and bred. Was a huge State Farm fan. Then they and their local agent pulled a couple of rate games here in NC that now makes State Farm permanently dead to me. Forever.

 

[Surewhitey]

I've heard that it's normal for insurance companies to offer low rates initially, then slowly raise them over time, knowing most people don't take the time to shop around.

This is why all the ads say "people who switched to us save x%." People who switch to any other company always save. And start the cycle of raising rates all over again.

Yeah, we've never been that kind of consumer, but DW is from the insurance industry and she even said that it was time to get a comparison from others. She's pretty happy with Allstate over the years, so it'll have to be a substantial savings to make her move.

Just doesn't make sense to pay $2k to drive 5-7k miles combined for the past 2 years & no accidents in 15+ years imo.

 

[freedomatlast]

My insurance agent told me years ago if someone ran into your car, you better hope they didn't have Snake Farm insurance because they were absolutely the worst to try to get a fair settlement.

 

[RetMD21]

I had the old time OBD2 tracker from State Farm but they discontinued those. I wonder if it is related to the lack of GPS. If I recall correctly 80 was a negative but that is the speed limit I have seen in OK and Texas over the last few years.

 

[aaronc879]

I switched to State Farm last year after doing some comparison shopping and am very happy so far. Just got my home insurance bill and it is down 10%. My car insurance was 20% lower than the place I switched from due to using their monitoring system. I think the monitoring should be mandatory. It would hold accountable those drivers who drive reckless. You get dinged for going over 7 over the speed limit, hard acceleration and hard braking. No it is not perfect but it is useful and I like it and will continue using it to get a better rate since i'm a good driver.

 

[Music Lover]

This may be too simple.

Leave your phone home while you're driving.

One of the reasons that I got a cell phone was so I had access to a phone when not at home.

 

[aaronc879]

One of the reasons that I got a cell phone was so I had access to a phone when not at home.

In my opinion the ONLY reason to have a cell phone is to have a phone for when you leave the house. Not bringing it with you when you leave makes no sense. That doesn't mean you should use it while you are driving of course.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I switched to State Farm last year after doing some comparison shopping and am very happy so far. Just got my home insurance bill and it is down 10%. My car insurance was 20% lower than the place I switched from due to using their monitoring system. I think the monitoring should be mandatory. It would hold accountable those drivers who drive reckless. You get dinged for going over 7 over the speed limit, hard acceleration and hard braking. No it is not perfect but it is useful and I like it and will continue using it to get a better rate since i'm a good driver.

I switched to State Farm last April and I declined the monitoring device(s) in the vehicles. Even without the discount for installing these devices I'm saving significantly over my previous carrier, Auto-Owners, which I got through an independent agency several years ago.

When I started my search to replace Auto-Owners my independent agency had nothing better or cheaper to recommend so I shopped Liberty Mutual, Geico, American Family, Allstate, and State Farm. I also used one of those websites that gives quotes from multiple insurance companies (and spams you for weeks.) State Farm was the clear winner, Liberty Mutual was a distant second place.

YMMV, of course.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I just got my auto insurance bill which had a decent increase. I discovered that they believe I’m driving 19300 miles a year. Actually it’s about 5000 or 6000. So I called and asked them how they figured the 19,300? They said that they didn’t know in my particular case but told me it was from things like oil changes and smog checks etc. so apparently they have access to this data. I was amazed.

It’s easy for me to prove my case since the car has only 13k on it in the two years since I bought it so I’ll see what they do. But I was pretty astonished by the info they thought they had.

Your auto service provider is sending your oil change data and other service records to Car Fax or similar companies. They get paid for providing this data. Insurance companies pay these data collection services to get this data. Some auto dealer service departments, especially luxury cars, have this data available for free if you have the VIN.

This info is not hard to get and nothing nefarious is happening unless you think oil change frequency data being semi-public is violating your privacy. Funny how this data availability is welcomed when shopping for a used vehicle but scorned otherwise. Anyone who has ever purchased a Car Fax report should not be complaining.

In your case they misinterpreted the data and now you have a hassle to unwind. You should easily win this argument. Keep us posted.

 

[grasshopper]

Are you sure you can opt out of that?

https://www.technologyreview.com/2016/06/08/70845/tesla-knows-when-a-crash-is-your-fault-and-other-carmakers-soon-will-too/

"Everyone makes mistakes, and many people try to cover them up. But if you try to hide an error made behind the wheel of a car made by Tesla Motors, you are liable to be caught out. In fact, trying to hide what really happened in any kind of car accident could soon become just about impossible.


That’s the lesson of an incident over the weekend in which the owner of a Tesla Model X SUV crashed into a building and claimed it had suddenly accelerated on its own. But Tesla vehicles are constantly connected to their manufacturer via the Internet ...."


Caveat - I don't know much about Tesla cars, so maybe you can in fact opt out. You would know better than I.

A road I traveled between school and home years ago.

The driver of a Tesla that went off a cliff Monday at Devil’s Slide in San Mateo County has been arrested for attempted murder and child abuse after investigators said they believe the crash was intentional, according to the California Highway Patrol.

 

[GenXguy]

In my opinion the ONLY reason to have a cell phone is to have a phone for when you leave the house.

That opinion would be wrong. That's only one of multiple reasons why I have a cell phone, and for quite a few years, I often did not take it with me when I left home except when biking or trips out of town. I only started taking it with me to work late last summer. lol I have no other phone at home, but I do at work.

 

[Music Lover]

In my opinion the ONLY reason to have a cell phone is to have a phone for when you leave the house.

That's one reason but there are several others. It's more than just a phone.

 

[marko]

This may be too simple.

Leave your phone home while you're driving.

Both my cars require a phone in order to have navigation, pandora and Sirius XM and other capabilities.

Most new cars do not have those things built in anymore and rely on Anroid Auto or the Apple equivalent.

 

[Koolau]

When they smog check a vehicle, the odometer reading is recorded in the state database along with the test output. No guessing involved.

Yeah, we have a safety check (required annual inspection) in which they electronically photograph the odometer as well as the vin plate. No idea if SF has access to that, but I wouldn't doubt it.

As far as changing carries because of such "nosiness" I'm assuming if one company can do it, they all can (and do.)

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I bought a 2021 Ford Ranger that features a software package called "FordPass." When I fire up the truck, the dashboard display announced that it has connected with FordPass. For my own good, I'm sure.

Fortunately, the truck's software settings enable me to shut down FordPass. I cannot start my truck remotely without it, but I never do that anyway.

The level of Internet connections a modern vehicle can establish boggles the mind. Do you enjoy Sirius radio? My own truck enables me to connect it to my smartphone. The Ranger will also serve as an Internet hotspot. I decline them all.

I've said it before, but if you fear government intrusion in your life, fear that of private business a lot more. They have no constitutional limits.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Fortunately, the truck's software settings enable me to shut down FordPass. I cannot start my truck remotely without it, but I never do that anyway.

Are you sure about this? Most vehicles with remote start capability can do so through the key fob. Lock the doors and press a "start" button two times. You need to be within about 100-150 feet of the vehicle to do this. No other software or device (like a phone) is necessary.

You can also remote start your car from a much greater distance using your phone. I suspect this is one of the features of the FordPass software.

Here in Minnesota in the winter I remote start my truck (Ram 1500) whenever I'm leaving the house. I use the key fob. I declined signing up for the software connections and the additional features it provides.

 

[aja8888]

When i went to the Hyundai dealer yesterday for my free oil change and tire rotation, the clerk asked why I declined the three year free Blue Link internet connection, which can remind you when your next oil change is due. I said I can remind myself when it's due, I don't need help.