Recently I’ve heard advertisements on radio and television for an insurance company app that ‘lets you prove you’re a good driver’. OK, I guess some people would take that bait. You might know you’re a good driver if you don’t have accidents, or haven’t had a ticket for a moving violation in several years.

But who would be foolish enough to download an app that tracks everything your car does. How long you idle, your speed, and believe me, applications these days also know the posted speed limit. My company uses a similar application to ‘watch’ it’s employees who drive company cars. In case no one else has noticed, most Americans don’t drive the speed limit, either in the city or on the interstate, or along county backroads. I know because I’m the one causing the bottle neck on two lane roads by driving the speed limit. Putting an app like this on your phone is like getting your insurance agent to drive with you everywhere you go. And while they’re tracking the car, are they also tracking where you go? Do you stay out late at night, or go through areas of town with a high crime rate? I’m sure that would bump up your insurance payments if you did. Say you get a job promotion and now have to park downtown. Up goes your insurance because the chances your car will be vandalized have just shot up from when you parked in an open lot in the suburbs. Did you want to spend your hard earned raise on insurance? Once you get the app, I suspect it will be very difficult to get rid of it, possibly penalties and fees will be involved

I strongly suspect that putting this application on your phone will NOT lower your insurance rates, and the chances your rates will go up are much greater than they will go down. More importantly, if we aren’t careful every move we make is going to be watched and recorded by somebody. Fakebook and Giggle already have us pegged, it’s a trend that needs to stop. Just don’t do it.