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Re: 'Safe driving' Apps - Insurance company

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 11:26 am
by sussex2
TheInsanity1234 wrote:
akirk wrote:
JohnP wrote:Being monitored by a black box for harsh braking will put people off braking hard to avoid going over traffic lights just changed to red. The box will see the braking but not going through the red light.


I think the answer to that would be that you shouldn't need to brake in a harsh manner for lights - doesn't it suggest a lack of observation and forward planning?

Alasdair

Mostly, I suspect it will be a case of simply not paying attention to the lights until it's too late.

However, one scenario, I actually went through a red light but it was simply due to me being so shocked by the lights that I didn't think about pressing the brake pedal until it was far too late, at which point I just had to floor it and nip through.

The red lights in question were on a level crossing in Porthmadog, where there is a railway crossing. Now, I've regularly been to Porthmadog for 3 times a year, for the last 5 or 6 years, and I've never seen these level crossings in operation.

But I was approaching the level crossing, when the amber lights came on, and I was quite shocked that the railway was still in operation that I totally forgot I was meant to be braking, and then the red flashing lights came on, and this woke me up, and I realised it was far too late to stop, so I just floored it and got through with plenty of time to spare it turned out.


Which only goes to prove the old driving adage 'Drive each road as if it were the first time'....and be particularly careful on roads you used to know!

Re: 'Safe driving' Apps - Insurance company

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 11:53 am
by akirk
waremark wrote:
akirk wrote:
JohnP wrote:Being monitored by a black box for harsh braking will put people off braking hard to avoid going over traffic lights just changed to red. The box will see the braking but not going through the red light.


I think the answer to that would be that you shouldn't need to brake in a harsh manner for lights - doesn't it suggest a lack of observation and forward planning?

Alasdair

Does it? "Stop if safe to do so' not 'if possible to do so smoothly'. The better the O and P, the closer to the lights you can be when they change to amber and still stop in time. No?



I think you might be correct in terms of my reply which suggested never braking harshly - however I probably wrote it badly as I was thinking more around the OP's comment about braking as lights have just changed to red - surely that should never be a surprise as there is always an amber warning - so the braking should either start in the amber, or a decision made not to brake - the braking shouldn't be starting in the red, or else there was insufficient observation.

Alasdair

Re: 'Safe driving' Apps - Insurance company

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 12:16 pm
by sussex2
akirk wrote:
waremark wrote:
akirk wrote:
JohnP wrote:Being monitored by a black box for harsh braking will put people off braking hard to avoid going over traffic lights just changed to red. The box will see the braking but not going through the red light.


I think the answer to that would be that you shouldn't need to brake in a harsh manner for lights - doesn't it suggest a lack of observation and forward planning?

Alasdair

Does it? "Stop if safe to do so' not 'if possible to do so smoothly'. The better the O and P, the closer to the lights you can be when they change to amber and still stop in time. No?



I think you might be correct in terms of my reply which suggested never braking harshly - however I probably wrote it badly as I was thinking more around the OP's comment about braking as lights have just changed to red - surely that should never be a surprise as there is always an amber warning - so the braking should either start in the amber, or a decision made not to brake - the braking shouldn't be starting in the red, or else there was insufficient observation.

Alasdair


Applying the system then the lights changing should not come as a surprise. The decision as to whether to stop or continue should be made before the lights change; likewise with pedestrian crossings and various other places.
Whether it'll work depends on course on all the factors applied to a human being :)

Re: 'Safe driving' Apps - Insurance company

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 7:20 pm
by WhoseGeneration
Come on, I'm sure everyone here can do any sort of driving "mode" on demand.
Problem is, others don't appreciate that there are some who can do this in complete safety.
Perhaps these "safe driving" apps need to be linked to all round view cameras?

Re: 'Safe driving' Apps - Insurance company

Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 12:29 pm
by waremark
I have never come across any well-informed input by an insider about the black box industry. How are they calibrated, is there sound statistical evidence of a correlation between attributes which can be assessed by a black box and accident risk, etc.

I find it very credible that having a black box fitted makes a driver take more care than they would otherwise. I find it much more difficult to believe that having had one's driving assessed over a limited period by a phone app can provide a sensible indicator of future accident risk. Perhaps the thought is that drivers who believe they drive safely will self-select and that will be a useful selection. Otherwise, offering this service could be just a marketing gimmick to make an insurer's ads sound more interesting.

Information? Views?

Re: 'Safe driving' Apps - Insurance company

Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 12:38 pm
by Horse
waremark wrote: Perhaps the thought is that drivers who believe they drive safely will self-select and that will be a useful selection.


Hmmm . . . a bit like 'Doing the IAM' to get an insurance discount? :?

Re: 'Safe driving' Apps - Insurance company

Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2016 10:18 pm
by waremark
Horse wrote:
waremark wrote: Perhaps the thought is that drivers who believe they drive safely will self-select and that will be a useful selection.


Hmmm . . . a bit like 'Doing the IAM' to get an insurance discount? :?

Generally doomed to disappointment! IAM Select most often just match the best price available elsewhere. But the real saving comes from retaining a no claims discount by not crashing.