The Narc in Your Next New Car

For years, the insurance mafia has been trying to get people to voluntarily plug a driving monitor into their car, using the prospect of a “discount” as an inducement. Most people don’t fall for this because they understand that the “discount” is of a piece with advertising that promises you’ll save “up to 20 percent” but actually save you nothing or very little – while always paying more.

Well, your next new car may come standard with the driver monitor already plugged in. Embedded, actually – which means you can’t remove it. Or say no thanks to it.  If you buy the car, you buy the embedded narc.

Allstate and Nationwide just announced they’ve “partnered” with Ford to pre-wire most 2020 (and likely all 2021) model Ford and Lincoln vehicles with the embedded tech to “participate” in what is styled the Milewise program, which uses the vehicle’s in-car WiFi to transmit to the mafia data about your driving habits.

Elena Ford, chief customer experience officer at Ford Motor Company say: “This is the latest way we’re improving the customer experience . . . (it) makes getting insurance easier for connected-vehicle customers to cover one of their biggest investments – their vehicle – while saving money.” Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $25.00 (as of 11:14 UTC - Details)

The spiel goes on to promise “savings” of (here it comes) “up to 40 percent.”

Ostensibly, the monitoring is merely of the mileage driven – you pay less if you drive less – but what people aren’t being told is that the vehicles so equipped are fully capable of transmitting data about everything.

And not just your driving, either. But let’s start there.

How far you drive and where – as well as how fast. Anything faster than the posted speed limit being, of course, synonymous with “unsafe” driving – and we all know what that means.

Bye-bye “up to 40 percent” savings. More like 40 percent surcharge.

It will be like taking a radar trap with you every time you drive. Or rather, being unable to drive without running afoul of a radar trap.

And it won’t be just “speeding,” either. These in-car narcs also monitor how quickly you accelerate. Even if you never actually break the speed limit, if you accelerate too quickly – for saaaaaaaaaaaaafety! – then you can expect to not get that discount. Same goes for braking “too abruptly” – another indicator (according to the mafia’s metrics) of “unsaaaaaaafe” driving.

Read the Whole Article