Received an email from my car

[Blonde Granny]

So, it seems as though OnStar is the big brother watching all my driving.  Here is the latest repost since the day I bought the car 5-25-2017  It appears my hard braking and hard acceleration needs a little work.  The following includes an 800 mi trip to Nebraska 2 days after I bought the car.  The rest is local driving.

GRAPH MAP
2017

TRIPS: 155

Score --
Hard Braking 16

Hard Acceleration 18

Late Night Driving 0.0%

Distance Driven 1837
*Average MPG 26.0

*Average MPH 42

*Speed Over 80 MPH 1.4%

*Idle Time 08:18:34

[mroped]

I had a pickup truck that kept on sending me emails that I'm exceeding the load/pull capacity of the vehicle just about every day. Was quite fun arguing with the on board computer when all warning signs were flashing and I kept the pedal down to the floor!

[Bonny]

Jul 3, 2017 16:33:04 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

So, it seems as though OnStar is the big brother watching all my driving.  Here is the latest repost since the day I bought the car 5-25-2017  It appears my hard braking and hard acceleration needs a little work.  The following includes an 800 mi trip to Nebraska 2 days after I bought the car.  The rest is local driving.

GRAPH MAP
2017

TRIPS: 155

Score --
Hard Braking 16

Hard Acceleration 18

Late Night Driving 0.0%

Distance Driven 1837
*Average MPG 26.0

*Average MPH 42

*Speed Over 80 MPH 1.4%

*Idle Time 08:18:34

I'd be asking OnStar when they passed his or her driver's license.

[alabamagal]

*Speed Over 80 MPH 1.4%  

Doesn't look like granny driving to me!

DH is driving for Uber now.  He gets a driving report also, but his is from his phone.  He put his car on ECO mode so it has very little acceleration and he improved his score.

[Blonde Granny]

I believe that over 80 thing happened driving on I-29 or I-49 coming back from Nebraska.

[weltschmerz]

My car is very old. I don't get emails....I get telegrams.

[zibazinski]

Jul 3, 2017 16:33:04 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

So, it seems as though OnStar is the big brother watching all my driving.  Here is the latest repost since the day I bought the car 5-25-2017  It appears my hard braking and hard acceleration needs a little work.  The following includes an 800 mi trip to Nebraska 2 days after I bought the car.  The rest is local driving.

GRAPH MAP
2017

TRIPS: 155

Score --
Hard Braking 16

Hard Acceleration 18

Late Night Driving 0.0%

Distance Driven 1837
*Average MPG 26.0

*Average MPH 42

*Speed Over 80 MPH 1.4%

*Idle Time 08:18:34

Rude and instrusive

[Deleted]

I wonder how long before insurance companies start setting rates based on these stats? 

[Deleted]

Jul 3, 2017 16:49:21 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

*Speed Over 80 MPH 1.4%  

Doesn't look like granny driving to me!

DH is driving for Uber now.  He gets a driving report also, but his is from his phone.  He put his car on ECO mode so it has very little acceleration and he improved his score.

Used Eco mode on the interstate for the first time yesterday and I wasn't aware it also reduces AC output.  It improved my mileage but it got hot.

[NoNamePerson]

Jul 3, 2017 17:15:58 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

My car is very old. I don't get emails....I get telegrams.

You might need to upgrade to Windows 10

I say that with tongue in cheek since my car is old too and I guess I'll be getting smoke signals about my driving.

Good thing I don't have OnStar - I can see messages like holy sh## you're gonna kill us both!!!!

[Blonde Granny]

I was thinking about car insurance too....as I sad, I think I'd better pay attention to those hard braking and acceleration.  Only problem is that most of my town driving is on the interstate, and I won't creep on the on ramp at 35mph. I'd get run over or shoved off the road doing that.

[Artemis Windsong]

Can you turn the nagging front seat driver off?  Without totally disabling Onstar.

[Blonde Granny]

I don't know. I'm taking the car to the dealership Thursday to get it washed, will ask about that while I'm there. No one warned me about big brother monitoring my driving.

[zibazinski]

That's just creepy.

[tskeeter]

Jul 3, 2017 17:15:58 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

My car is very old. I don't get emails....I get telegrams.

Mine sends smoke signals.  Mostly from the tail pipe.

[dannylion]

I only signed up for the level of OnStar that sends emails about diagnostic information, maintenance issues, and scheduled maintenance. I really only wanted the part that recognizes and reports collisions and other emergencies.  Since I live alone, if I end up in a ditch somewhere or drive off a mountain, no one will notice I didn't come home.   However, I have come to appreciate the fact that my car can tell me when it needs something. 

I don't think I would like to have the annoying nanny level of service.

[countrygirl2]

Yes, they will use that data if you have an accident.

I let them put a deal on my car for a year, it plugged into the diagnostics port to see my driving habits,

was supposed to lower my insurance rates.  I took the thing off after the first year as they were going to

CHARGE me to leave it on. What the hell? I didn't want it to begin with, sent it back to them, yep they

wanted it back.

[tskeeter]

Jul 3, 2017 17:45:18 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I wonder how long before insurance companies start setting rates based on these stats? 

They're working at it.  Some companies offer discounts if you plug their data collector into your car's OBDC port.  What would be the point unless you were testing technology and collecting comparative data so you could base insurance premiums on folks driving habits.  May not be a bad deal with some groups, such as young drivers with no or limited driving history.  May not be a good thing if you get premium surcharges every time you step on the brake hard.  

I spent 10 years playing tag on LA's 91 freeway (5 lanes each direction, a car and a half behind the car in front of you at 80 miles an hour) without an accident.  (Average would be a fender bender every four or five years.). I had the brakes locked up several times without hitting the car in front of me and without creating a situation where the car behind me hit me.  I'd hate to get a $100 insurance bill every time I had to use aggressive car handling to avoid being involved in an accident or hitting furniture falling off a vehicle ahead of me.  (Furniture falling/blowing off vehicles was so common that local radio stations referred to it as freeway furniture.)

[mroped]

That OnStar feature can come in handy sometimes.
I was fishing in Northern Canada and I while I was backing up to a lake I wanted to adjust my rear view mirror. By mistake I touched the alert button.
OnStar came on and the operator grilled me with questions about my well being after which he proceeded to assure himself that it is I who drives the vehicle and not somebody else.
When all was set and done I asked him how accurately can they pinpoint my location and his answer was " within 5 meters!" 
That was prety impressive and scary at the same time!

[NoNamePerson]

Jul 3, 2017 20:52:57 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Jul 3, 2017 17:15:58 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

My car is very old. I don't get emails....I get telegrams.

Mine sends smoke signals.  Mostly from the tail pipe.

I misread this as TALL pipe. I'm thinking Bong

[Blonde Granny]

Since I'm a widow, I will likely pay for all the options OnStar offers....at least until I get my carry permit (LOL). Just as well I learned about Big Brother now, at my age becoming a better driver and one more aware could only help.

[ZaireinHD]

ok wait?

May 2017 is a long time ago, meaning it's well over the 30 day mark. unless you have a 90 day free on-star promotion.

on-star comes with some vehicles free service to see if the customer likes it

on star is a tracking device. current tracking devices can tell the driver all sorts of things. well beyond just the location of the car.

Hellz Bellz - my GPS APP on my cell can track my speed.

but I am thinking that you are paying for the On-Star service and don't know it? because you are not paying directly to On-Star.

well - basically - yes - of course - you can change or modify or even stop the email notices.

[milee]

Jul 3, 2017 21:02:27 GMT -5 dannylion said:

.... Since I live alone, if I end up in a ditch somewhere or drive off a mountain, no one will notice I didn't come home.   ....

Yeah, a representative for one of the companies that sells ID bracelets for athletes came to talk at my running club and I don't think he really liked my (I thought very logical) questions...

He explained how if we were out running alone we absolutely needed to have identification and "in case of emergency" contact info in case we were injured and couldn't talk.  These weren't medic alert bracelets, they didn't have any health information, just ID.  

Me:  So, if I'm found unconscious, why exactly does someone need to know who I am and/or emergency contact info?
Rep:  So they know who you are and your loved ones aren't worrying!  
Me:  But if I'm unconscious, no matter who I am, aren't most people going to call 911 for an ambulance?
Rep:  Yes.
Me:  And again, no matter who I am, the ambulance is going to treat me and take me to the hospital, right?
Rep:  Yes.
Me:  I just don't see why it really matters to the strangers what my name is.  Seems unnecessary.  If I'm unconscious they'll treat me the same no matter what my name is.  Plus, if I'm home late at some point my family will get hungry and start to wonder why nobody has made dinner so my family would be calling the police and hospital who would know if they'd admitted an unidentified middle aged white lady (I mean really, how many of those turn up every day?).  And if my family doesn't call around to find me maybe I'm better off without them anyways... 

[Blonde Granny]

Zaire: the first one I posted was from the day I bought the car, May 25 through yesterday. The following is month of June (slight improvement)

JUNE 1 - 30, 2017

TRIPS: 96

Score85

Hard Braking 11

Hard Acceleration 9

Late Night Driving 0.0%

Distance Driven 643

*Average MPG 25.0



*Average MPH 28

*Speed Over 80 MPH 1.2%

*Idle Time 04:46:05

This is for current month of July ( received the email yesterday and have not driven the car today;

ULY 1 - 31, 2017

TRIPS: 5

Score86

Hard Braking 0

Hard Acceleration 1

Late Night Driving 0.0%

Distance Driven 49

*Average MPG 48.0

*Average MPH 36

*Speed Over 80 MPH 0.0%

*Idle Time 00:04:54

And yes, I am still in the free 90 day OnStar period.  And there is NO WAY my average MPG was 48 unless I was supposed to reset the mpg to zero when I bought gas.

[dannylion]

Jul 4, 2017 8:50:26 GMT -5 milee said:

Jul 3, 2017 21:02:27 GMT -5 dannylion said:

.... Since I live alone, if I end up in a ditch somewhere or drive off a mountain, no one will notice I didn't come home.   ....

Yeah, a representative for one of the companies that sells ID bracelets for athletes came to talk at my running club and I don't think he really liked my (I thought very logical) questions...

He explained how if we were out running alone we absolutely needed to have identification and "in case of emergency" contact info in case we were injured and couldn't talk.  These weren't medic alert bracelets, they didn't have any health information, just ID.  

Me:  So, if I'm found unconscious, why exactly does someone need to know who I am and/or emergency contact info?
Rep:  So they know who you are and your loved ones aren't worrying!  
Me:  But if I'm unconscious, no matter who I am, aren't most people going to call 911 for an ambulance?
Rep:  Yes.
Me:  And again, no matter who I am, the ambulance is going to treat me and take me to the hospital, right?
Rep:  Yes.
Me:  I just don't see why it really matters to the strangers what my name is.  Seems unnecessary.  If I'm unconscious they'll treat me the same no matter what my name is.  Plus, if I'm home late at some point my family will get hungry and start to wonder why nobody has made dinner so my family would be calling the police and hospital who would know if they'd admitted an unidentified middle aged white lady (I mean really, how many of those turn up every day?).  And if my family doesn't call around to find me maybe I'm better off without them anyways... 

Even if you thought having readily accessible contact information was a good idea, you wouldn't need to buy a (probably overpriced) ID bracelet. You could accomplish the same thing by writing your phone number on the back of your hand with a Sharpie when you go out running. 

[Deleted]

If they ever put a device in my car that records my discussion of other drivers lack of mental acuity, destination in the afterlife, morals, size of genitalia, and current location of their head, I'm in really deep doo 

[NoNamePerson]

Jul 4, 2017 15:52:19 GMT -5 @donethat said:

If they ever put a device in my car that records my discussion of other drivers lack of mental acuity, destination in the afterlife, morals, size of genitalia, and current location of their head, I'm in really deep doo 

If this was the case OnStar would be saying "you said what, I've never heard those words before.

My reply would be google it asshole.I would be banned instantly.

[Deleted]

Jul 4, 2017 16:19:03 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

Jul 4, 2017 15:52:19 GMT -5 @donethat said:

If they ever put a device in my car that records my discussion of other drivers lack of mental acuity, destination in the afterlife, morals, size of genitalia, and current location of their head, I'm in really deep doo 

If this was the case OnStar would be saying "you said what, I've never heard those words before.

My reply would be google it asshole.I would be banned instantly.

Yup!  I have two kinds of passengers in my car - the ones who say I have a potty mouth and the ones who say, "Damn, I never heard it put that well!"  One of these days some lip-reading azzhat is going to shoot me but it will be worth it.