Could Telematics Help Reduce Thailand's Road Carnage?

[SoloFlyer]

I read this article in The Economist a while back and have been meaning to post about it.

A smart-phone can be used to measure driving characteristics like braking, accelerating, and cornering. Coupled with a physical car plug-in like automatic, data could probably be gathered on all sorts of driving behaviour. Insurance companies in the West are now using that data to offer cheaper insurance to better drivers.

Could this be applied in Thailand?? Perhaps the PorRorBor and compulsory insurance rates could be linked to such data. The more a driver deviates from good driving practice, the higher the insurance premium??

Theres a good penetration of smartphones in Thailand. Consumers think with their wallets. Get charged 50b for jumping that red light and you might do it less often.

This could be a real cheap way to do something about the road-toll.

Thoughts?

Heres the full text of the article:

SURVEYS routinely find that around 80% of drivers think of themselves as being of “above average” ability. Sadly for them—and happily for common sense—their insurers do not take such claims on faith.

Underwriters have traditionally used crude demographic data such as age, location and sex to separate the testosterone-fuelled boy racers from their often tamer female counterparts. Now technology is giving insurers the chance to see just how skilled a driver really is. By monitoring their customers’ motoring habits, underwriters can increasingly distinguish between drivers who are safe on the road from those who merely seem safe on paper. Many think that “telematics insurance” will become the industry norm.

I

Most variants of this model rely on a simple device in the car that beams data back to the insurance company. (Other schemes, like one operated by Aviva, a British insurer, rely on smartphone apps downloaded by customers.) In America, the focus is on how much time a car spends on the road, or “pay-as-you-drive”. Europe, where Britain and Italy lead the field, has typically emphasised driver ability (“pay-how-you-drive”), tallying how often brakes are slammed or corners taken on two wheels. Some devices include location-tracking options that can figure out if, say, a car is doing 80mph in a 50mph zone.

The reward for prospective customers can be a discount ranging from 10% to 40% off a standard rate. The drivers most likely to benefit are those the standard insurance market is overpricing because of their age or other factors, says Mike Brockman of insurethebox, a British underwriter.

Last month the firm launched “Drive Like a Girl”, a service that goads young drivers into safer motoring with the lure of cheaper car insurance. The spur was a recent EU court ruling that bars insurers from discriminating on the basis of sex. This forces young women to pay more, since they are shoved into the same underwriting pool as crash-prone young men. With telematics, however, women can demonstrate that they really are safer drivers, and receive a discount. So can some men. “You don’t need to be a girl to drive like one,” Mr Brockman says.

The rewards for insurance companies could be even greater. They get to cherry-pick their customers based on data, not crude assumptions. “We have a way of actually identifying better drivers,” says Dave Pratt, general manager of the telematics division at Progressive, an American underwriter. “That is a huge advantage.” The firm says a third of new business comes via its telematics scheme. The hefty discount it offers to the best drivers still leaves it with plenty of margin. More important, it avoids insuring the expensive car-wreckers of the future. By granting lousy drivers no rebate, it nudges them to buy insurance elsewhere.

A side benefit is that insurers can more easily identify scams—if a costly whiplash claim is submitted for what was in fact a small bump, for example. This has driven growth in the Italian market, says Frederic Bruneteau of Ptolemus, a consultancy.

Some also hail telematics as a way of improving driving standards, by making drivers more aware of when they are behaving dangerously. Black boxes can be made to beep when a car brakes too heavily, for example. They can alert emergency services after a crash, too.

But customers (and some regulators) also worry about the privacy implications of tracking drivers. Progressive no longer monitors cars’ location for fear of appearing Big Brotherish. Its gizmos only stay plugged in for six months to establish a snapshot of driving frequency and style, after which the discount is permanent.

Despite such concerns, the market is growing quickly. Customers like personalised discounts. And insurers crave any source of data that helps them sift those drivers who are above average from those who merely believe they are.

[Wong!]

Real driving lessons, real law, real policemen, and road layouts done by real humans would be a better foundation to build from.

[VocalNeal]

Lord help us. Someone else trying to tell us how to drive! It would be like having the MIL sat constantly in the back seat. Who does the programming? Some beige insurance jobsworth! 1984 here we come.

Another good reason not to have a phone that is too smart.

[Showbags]

I think in thailand with the smart phones being as smart as they are.....they should be driving

[wilcopops]

you ...and the insurance companies are making assumptions about "safe" driving....and accepting that the assumption about "safe" drivers being divided by genders as correct.

insurance companies are concerned primarily with profit and then lower claims.

Edited March 3, 2014 by wilcopops

[Thaddeus]

Most accidents involve motosais, and I would guess most do not have or do not care about insurance.

Real driving lessons, a real driving test and real traffic regulation enforcement, would the best start.

[VocalNeal]

Real driving lessons, a real driving test and real traffic regulation enforcement, would the best start.

I've had real lessons and passed the test here. Your third point is not a reason I live here, but let's call it a benefit. We can drive here freely without the constant worry about where the police might be lurking.

Keep complaining and one day LOS will be just like the over regulated countries we came from

[DILLIGAD]

Fantastic idea. A high tech system for people who have yet to master a turn signal or putting lights on at night!

It"s bound to work ......................NOT!

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited March 3, 2014 by DILLIGAD

[Thaddeus]

Real driving lessons, a real driving test and real traffic regulation enforcement, would the best start.

I've had real lessons and passed the test here. Your third point is not a reason I live here, but let's call it a benefit. We can drive here freely without the constant worry about where the police might be lurking.

Keep complaining and one day LOS will be just like the over regulated countries we came from

The pendulum doesn't have to swing the whole way over you know.

Somewhere in the middle may save some of those lives that are lost on the roads here every day.

[Wong!]

Real driving lessons, a real driving test and real traffic regulation enforcement, would the best start.

I've had real lessons and passed the test here. Your third point is not a reason I live here, but let's call it a benefit. We can drive here freely without the constant worry about where the police might be lurking.

Keep complaining and one day LOS will be just like the over regulated countries we came from

That's a fun course, driving around Noddy Town in first gear, but I don't see how it demonstrates to anyone that someone is ready to drive a car on a public road.

The main point, you conveniently left off. The road layouts here, especially outside of Bangkok are quite frankly insane. You have roads where no one knows who should have right of way (actually, the concept of right of way is alien here), you have slow vehicles moving across 2 or 3 lanes of faster vehicles to get to the stupid U-Turns, not one of these idiots can negotiate a roundabout, It's very rare when someone lets another vehicle do a manoeuvre that would help everyone else on the road (such a allowing a right turn from the opposite lane when traffic is stationary) as they're a bunch of selfish children in general.

Yes, it's nice to live in a country where you can pretty much do what you like, but we have the advantage of coming from countries that instil a sense of safety, so most of the time are thinking for every other lunatic out there on the roads, as they don;t think for themselves. It's especially concerning when you have kids. My lad, even when he was 4 would wonder how they could be so stupid. I daresay he will join them as he gets older, sadly.

[VocalNeal]

Real driving lessons, a real driving test and real traffic regulation enforcement, would the best start.

I've had real lessons and passed the test here. Your third point is not a reason I live here, but let's call it a benefit. We can drive here freely without the constant worry about where the police might be lurking.

Keep complaining and one day LOS will be just like the over regulated countries we came from

The pendulum doesn't have to swing the whole way over you know.

Somewhere in the middle may save some of those lives that are lost on the roads here every day.

Although we may not realize it a lot of what we know came by osmosis from our parents, not from formal learning. Watching and observing how they drove. Here I do not think children are even told how to cross the road. "Look, right, look left,look right again" kind of stuff so they have little hope when getting on a bike or in a car.

Maybe we can take the middle path on the learning part but keep the police away from actively policing the roads and petty stuff.

Here it is "expired road tax"? OK get a new one as soon as you can and have a nice day. Elsewhere car impounded cannot continue on the journey etc. Same goes for a lot of petty laws.

Why not take a short cut up a one way street on a motorbike if all the other bikes are doing it. It is almost expected here. Only foreigners get all upset.

You can't get a society to care about others over night, if they ever will.

Edited March 3, 2014 by VocalNeal

[transam]

OP, nooooooooooooooooooooo, a functioning police force can...............

[wilcopops]

OP, nooooooooooooooooooooo, a functioning police force can...............

Anyone who thinks a single solution is possible is flogging a dead horse.

If you see/read anyone flogging a single simple solution to this highly complex problem, you can be pretty sure it ain't gonna work.

[IMHO]

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road

Edited March 5, 2014 by IMHO

[wilcopops]

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road

QED

[Langsuan Man]

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road

And make sure you are wearing an amulet

[wilcopops]

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road

Big doesn't equal safest, especially when it comes to pickup based technology.

[IMHO]

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road

Big doesn't equal safest, especially when it comes to pickup based technology.

I didn't say big is safer,I said get the biggest, safest - i.e. a big vehicle with good safety.

Not sure why you mentioned pickups.. but if a 4-star pickup collides with a 4-star eco car, I know who comes out of it better

[funcat]

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road

Big doesn't equal safest, especially when it comes to pickup based technology.

I didn't say big is safer,I said get the biggest, safest - i.e. a big vehicle with good safety.

Not sure why you mentioned pickups.. but if a 4-star pickup collides with a 4-star eco car, I know who comes out of it better

If you're confident in your own driving,just don't piss off anybody who is (or think is) "bigger" than you

[wilcopops]

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road

Big doesn't equal safest, especially when it comes to pickup based technology.

I didn't say big is safer,I said get the biggest, safest - i.e. a big vehicle with good safety.

Not sure why you mentioned pickups.. but if a 4-star pickup collides with a 4-star eco car, I know who comes out of it better

Evidently not - like most people you seem to look at road safety in little single-issue bites.

[IMHO]

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road

Big doesn't equal safest, especially when it comes to pickup based technology.

I didn't say big is safer,I said get the biggest, safest - i.e. a big vehicle with good safety.

Not sure why you mentioned pickups.. but if a 4-star pickup collides with a 4-star eco car, I know who comes out of it better

Evidently not - like most people you seem to look at road safety in little single-issue bites.

Evidently not what? LOL

In this case, we're seeing a 4-star Audi Q7 meet with a 5-star Fiat 500

Fiat 500: http://www.euroncap.com/tests/Fiat_500_2007/298.aspx

Q7: http://www.euroncap.com/tests/audi_q7_2006/262.aspx

Individually they perform well, but not when they meet - it's all about compatibility - in the USA especially they are now trying to make designs that improve compatibility, but even as that becomes more popular it still doesn't change all the current poor compatibility designs on the road..

For now, I think I'll just stick to the biggest, with best safety for my family

[wilcopops]

Big doesn't equal safest, especially when it comes to pickup based technology.

I didn't say big is safer,I said get the biggest, safest - i.e. a big vehicle with good safety.

Not sure why you mentioned pickups.. but if a 4-star pickup collides with a 4-star eco car, I know who comes out of it better

Evidently not - like most people you seem to look at road safety in little single-issue bites.

Evidently not what? LOL

In this case, we're seeing a 4-star Audi Q7 meet with a 5-star Fiat 500

Fiat 500: http://www.euroncap.com/tests/Fiat_500_2007/298.aspx

Q7: http://www.euroncap.com/tests/audi_q7_2006/262.aspx

Individually they perform well, but not when they meet - it's all about compatibility - in the USA especially they are now trying to make designs that improve compatibility, but even as that becomes more popular it still doesn't change all the current poor compatibility designs on the road..

For now, I think I'll just stick to the biggest, with best safety for my family

QED! - you just based you entire theory of road safety on one picture. Could you get any more daft??

Edited March 9, 2014 by wilcopops

[IMHO]

I didn't say big is safer,I said get the biggest, safest - i.e. a big vehicle with good safety.

Not sure why you mentioned pickups.. but if a 4-star pickup collides with a 4-star eco car, I know who comes out of it better

Evidently not - like most people you seem to look at road safety in little single-issue bites.

Evidently not what? LOL

In this case, we're seeing a 4-star Audi Q7 meet with a 5-star Fiat 500

Fiat 500: http://www.euroncap.com/tests/Fiat_500_2007/298.aspx

Q7: http://www.euroncap.com/tests/audi_q7_2006/262.aspx

Individually they perform well, but not when they meet - it's all about compatibility - in the USA especially they are now trying to make designs that improve compatibility, but even as that becomes more popular it still doesn't change all the current poor compatibility designs on the road..

For now, I think I'll just stick to the biggest, with best safety for my family

QED! - you just based you entire theory of road safety on one picture. Could you get any more daft??

Try clicking the white on red arrow icon - then you'll find it's actually a series of several thousand pictures

[Retro Reactive]

MRO is absolutely right, cant repeal law of physics with respect to weight and ride height in crashes, here are some others to this point.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Retro Reactive

[Retro Reactive]

Lots of large lorries on Thai roads outside of city, colliding with them is more likely and comming off worse, near certainty

Trailer guards to prevent underide in Thailand are largely cosmetic

My concern with Utes and PPVs is the lack of curtain airbags and often the absense of vehicle stability control to help reduce the chance of rollover with this type of vehicle with higher center of gravity, ESP helps but rollover still occurs as it did with early explorer and bronco II days

[wilcopops]

I think that you really need to get up to speed on critical thinking here.

2 things read my post and secondly read up on road safety.

you might need a little more than pictures from Google.

Edited March 11, 2014 by wilcopops

[IMHO]

I think what you need to get up top speed on is the reality that nothing's going to change anytime soon in Thailand, no matter how hard you wish for it, or how much effort you put into arguing about it on the internet. The only practical solutions to road safety in Thailand right now, are:

Meanwhile back in the real Thailand...... Just buy the biggest, safest car you can, stay alert, and always remember the Thai motto: Share the road