my insurance company offers a sensor to track my driving habits

[information7]

they say it could save me money. it plugs into my diagnostic port. should i get it?

[MagicRat]

Absolutely NOT!

Do you know the driving criteria the insurance company are going to use?

I believe the modern car computer tracks stuff like throttle position, rate of acceleration, ABS use, etc. But things like quick acceleration, higher speeds etc are not, by themselves, risky. It all depends on circumstances. But the insurance compay may evaluate the information on its own and decide something entirely arbitrary.... like saying you accelerate too quickly..... and declare you a reckless driver and raise your rates unfairly.

Furthermore, the tracking device may not be very accurate.

IMO you should change insurance companys. Your company could justify raising your rates just by refusing to have this device installed.

[jdmccright]

Most modern vehicles already store a small amount of data in the ECM in the event of an accident. There are devices like this that you can purchase yourself to monitor a family member's driving habits...say, a newly licensed teenager...but I don't care for an insurance agency to promote them as "potentially saving money" when it is more likely that they wish to use the data gathered against you.

They would have to clearly spell out what they would evaluate and for how long and how much savings. Yes, there are alot of jackasses on the road that drive recklessly, but even they're smart enough to say no to this. And I certainly don't need the financial gun pointed at my head to drive safely according to them.

It's really all B.S. since our insurance rates go up every year anyways. Besides, if you do sign up for it and then want to drop it, they have another reason to up your rate.

If you want to do this on your own, I'd suggest a ScanGuage or similar to monitor your driving....helping you to drive smoother and more economical.

Good luck with this!