Kenn Dahl says he has always been a careful driver. The owner of a software company near Seattle, he drives a leased Chevrolet Bolt. He's never been responsible for an accident. So Mr. Dahl, 65, was surprised in 2022 when the cost of his car insurance jumped by 21 percent. Quotes from other insurance companies were also high. One insurance agent told him his LexisNexis report was a factor. LexisNexis is a New York-based global data broker with a "Risk Solutions" division that caters to the auto insurance industry and has traditionally kept tabs on car accidents and tickets. Upon Mr. Dahl's request, LexisNexis sent him a 258-page "consumer disclosure report," which it must provide per the Fair Credit Reporting Act. What it contained stunned him: more than 130 pages detailing each time he or his wife had driven the Bolt over the previous six months. It included the dates of 640 trips, their start and end times, the distance driven and an accounting of any speeding, hard braking or sharp accelerations. The only thing it didn't have is where they had driven the car. On a Thursday morning in June for example, the car had been driven 7.33 miles in 18 minutes; there had been two rapid accelerations and two incidents of hard braking.
-Steve
I have a transponder in my car from State Farm. I get a discount for being a good driver. I drive like an old man, because . . . I am an old man.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think that they do with your data???
DeleteYou do realize that State Farm will use any information from that transponder to deny any claims you have after an accident, right?
DeleteJust bought a used Genesis (Hyundai) yesterday and then saw this thread last night. I started looking around this morning for a way to control the data the car collects. I found this - VehiclePrivacyReport.com. I entered the VIN for the new car and the website stated "this car is like a smart phone on wheels". Lots of interesting information. I signed up after a couple hours of research. Check it out and see what you think
DeleteI’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you…
ReplyDeleteWe will need to hack, or hire hackers to hack our cars and modify the software they run on.
ReplyDeleteOR buy and maintain an old car, which they are now trying to outlaw in Europe...
Much the same way that California is refusing to re-register older diesel trucks because they cause global warming.
DeleteSlowly, the sheep are being herded into the pens...
Global warming is the basis for most of the most onerous violations of our God given rights.
DeleteJust remember that every day is "Burn a tire for Greta day." https://www.thepubliceditor.com/climate-change-weather/burn-a-tire-for-greta-day-a-new-national-holiday/#
Lexis Nexus has probably every type of data imaginable. Wouldn't surprise me if they also had phone advertising data and all that that entails.
ReplyDeleteBingo. Everyone is going to freak out and some dumb law is going to be passed to prevent *car* manufacturers from giving this data to insurance companies...meanwhile everyone forgets your cell phone can track you with things like GPS, accelerometers, magnetic field sensors, light sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, vibration sensors, and about 50 other sensors you wouldn't expect....all so they can do things like figure out when you're probably asleep so it can give you a "score" on how well you slept last night.
DeleteHere's a slightly redacted list of what I am able to get out of my cell phone:
https://imgur.com/a/gcf0ifG
This is why cell phones are dangerous for privacy.
Notice there's data in there about your car? Mine's currently blank because I'm not connected to my car...but when I am you get even more data about your vehicle.
Hell--they even know when your cell phone is next to your face.
It won't be very long before this data is subpoenaed regularly every time you go to court for any traffic "infraction".
Young Kenneth's practice of carrying a cell phone, but leaving it turned off is starting to make more and more sense.
DeleteOff doesn't work.
DeleteTry this. Charge your cell phone to 100%, then turn it off.
Leave it somewhere...next to your bed, in your car, etc...come back in a week and see how much juice is in it.
You'll notice a drop because *some* sensors are left on even though it's mostly powered down.
As long as you can't pull the battery to completely shut it off, they'll keep recording a minimal amount of data on you.
That ratcheting sound you hear is the price of older (non-data reporting) cars going up.
ReplyDeleteFuck you, and fuck you. OnStar can suck it too.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason not to buy a new car.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
Exactly. My Hyundai is a 2011. I have received over the years from Hyundai numerous "safety features" to install or I could be facing a fatal accident, my car could just stop working or they need to upgrade my software... all titled "Important Service Campaign". Well, over 200,000 miles and my car is running great. I don't use Hyundai service, just my local mechanic and they don't mess with that crap.
DeleteI note it claims that The only thing it didn't have is where they had driven the car, but given it's tracking everything else, I think the actual navigation was simply redacted before the report was released. I think this because Ford's VP stated many years ago that, "We can track you wherever you go," and the next day after the blow-back, he said, "but we wouldn't do that."
ReplyDeleteRiiiiighhhht
I think Ford's VP told the truth with the first statement, and over the years, I've wondered much further tracking has gone, and how much more info they are getting.
This news report provides a partial answer to that question.
Steve
"Two instances of hard braking". Yeah because the illegal driving the ratty pickup in front didn't have any brake lights.
ReplyDeleteI asked my insurance agent about the transponder a few years ago. She recommended "No", because most people will pay higher premiums. It's not their driving. It's higher because they moved, got a new job, or were sold the wrong policy. They now drive much farther than their current policy covers.
ReplyDeleteHere's where you get you report from LexisNexis is you're interested.
ReplyDeletehttps://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/request
As a mechanic, I should have access to that information as well. That way, I can charge insurance people the "appropriate" fees for their vehicle maintenance.
ReplyDeleteAnd THAT is why I've put about $8,000 into my 2010 SUV over the past 3 years. My pickup is a 2011 that is a base model. And the battery of my cell phone is removed when I start a trip. Lived for over 50 years w/o a cell phone.
ReplyDeleteFuck that. Absolutely no and fuck that shit. I'll drive my 2010 Tacoma into the ground before I pay for that crap.
ReplyDeleteMy 2000 Ford Lightning is just fine....and people want to know why I drive a 24 year old truck....more than a couple of decades of great service and no bullshit to deal with....
ReplyDelete