{"id":3954863,"date":"2024-03-18T06:32:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T13:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mynorthwest.com\/?p=3954863"},"modified":"2024-03-18T06:32:35","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T13:32:35","slug":"ross-cars-drivers-release-driving-data-insurance-is-your-driving-my-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mynorthwest.com\/3954863\/ross-cars-drivers-release-driving-data-insurance-is-your-driving-my-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to The New York Times<\/a>, insurance companies have been collecting data from internet-connected cars, and jacking up the insurance rates of lousy drivers.<\/p>\n

The article told the story of a driver here in Seattle who noticed that his insurance rate had jumped 21%. When he investigated, he learned his insurer had based the higher rate on data from 640 car trips! Based on the number of sudden stops and quick accelerations, he was riskier than they thought.<\/p>\n

Like a lot of drivers, he found this intrusive. And that\u2019s what I want to examine.<\/p>\n

Chris Sullivan on Wash. roads<\/strong>: Lane sweeping is all too common and needs to stop<\/a><\/p>\n

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake, every sudden brake \u2013 someone\u2019s watching you. Do we as drivers have a right to keep our driving data private?<\/p>\n

I would say that WHERE and WHEN we drive \u2013 unless you\u2019ve committed a criminal act \u2013 is nobody\u2019s business. But I would say that HOW you drive needs some kind of supervision. Once we leave the driveway, we\u2019re on public display, in control of a powerful machine on highways that are typically crowded and are perpetually under construction.<\/p>\n

And there are some drivers who just can\u2019t handle it \u2013 impaired judgment, short tempers \u2013 we see them every day. I blame some of it on television ads showing pit maneuvers in the desert. Like driving is supposed to be fun!<\/p>\n

Well, maybe in the desert it\u2019s fun, but around here driving is a job where the health and safety of a lot of people is at stake. And pretty much the only way to assess who\u2019s good at that job and who isn\u2019t is to track their driving habits. The highways can\u2019t be a place where misbehavior hides behind anonymity. We have enough of that on the internet.<\/p>\n

More from Dave Ross<\/strong>: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.<\/a><\/p>\n

So yes, I know it feels like an invasion of privacy, and I wouldn\u2019t use that data to allow the cops to automatically arrest you, but if you\u2019re worried about your insurance company getting objective data on how you really drive \u2026 maybe it\u2019s time for an ORCA card<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Listen to Seattle\u2019s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O\u2019Brien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Follow @http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/thedaveross<\/a>