By Steve McKay

Q: How does the device know who is driving the car?
A: It doesn’t.

Q: Is it OK if I drive fast, follow closely, and slam on my brakes a lot if everyone around me is doing it, too?
A: No.

Q: How much discount will I lose for speeding? I love to speed.
A: None. Speed does not matter in determining discounts — unless your speeding makes you slam on the brakes all the time as you approach other cars.

Q: Can I put one in my husband’s car and not tell him?
A: Hmmm … maybe that question is better put to a couples counselor! Only the registered owner of the car should plug in the MyRate device.

Q: I like to run red lights late at night when no one is around. Is that OK?
A: No. That’s a bad idea, day or night.

By Steve McKay

Did you know that Progressive’s My Rate program doesn’t factor in speeding when determining discounts? We consider how frequently, how safely, and what time of day you drive. Many drivers feel that they need to speed in order to keep up with the flow of traffic and be safe. It turns out that the early government research on speeding, from back in the 1960s, found that what causes accidents is speed relative to traffic flow, not absolute speed (See, Solomon D. 1964. Accidents on main rural highways related to speed, driver and vehicle. Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce & Bureau of Public Roads). And with MyRate, we observe something similar. Many people who do well on the "how safely" part have fewer accidents even if they tend to speed. You might conclude that they must be keeping up with traffic flow well. Consider, too, that going 50 mph can be much too fast if the highway is jammed or road conditions are bad.

So what to do about speeding tickets? Every insurance company still rates on those. And it’s easy to determine who has broken the rule. Would you rather have violations for going faster than traffic allows? Should insurance companies consider speeding tickets at all?

By Steve Mckay

In bad traffic, no less. Yikes! 

Clearly, MyRate is NOT for him. 

Any other horrific driving-while-doing-something-else stories?

By Steve Mckay 

I read another blog the other day that wondered how the MyRate device transmits data back to “PHQ” (Progressive headquarters, I presume ... no doubt where we conduct our covert ops against Dr. Evil). The truth is, the MyRate device is equipped with nothing more than a cell phone chip that sends text messages. It talks to the car’s computer, gets speed and time of day, and texts that to Progressive. Not exactly James Bond.

By Steve Mckay

I can draw you a graph. But describing is harder.

There is a less-traveled, back way into my office. The road curves a little, so it’s fun to drive. I brake hard whenever I come to the stop sign at the end because I’m mostly thinking about work. If I take the “front way” (read: slower and boring). I almost never brake hard.

That’s safe driving.

By Steve Mckay

I spoke with leading privacy advocates last year, who said, “Our No. 1 concern is using a GPS to determine location.” So the MyRate device has no GPS chip. 

I also heard from consumers about privacy, and I can sum up what they said in one word: Yuck! Some people added something about their mom watching them.  

What do you say? Progressive isn’t watching you, but I understand if you’re skeptical. I want you to believe me. How can we turn the “yuck” into a “yay,” or at least an “OK”?

By Steve McKay

Hi there! I’m Steve McKay, a product manager on the MyRate team. Welcome to our brand new blog, where we’re going to talk about various aspects of the MyRate program and, hopefully, encourage constructive discussion from consumers like you. We want to hear your feedback, tackle your questions, and — most important — be your best source for facts about the program. But don’t worry — we’re going to have some fun along the way and share some stories and factoids that are entertaining (as you’ll see). We may even have the occasional guest blogger. My goal is to update this blog at least once a week, so be sure to check back often!

As you can see from the ticker at bottom right of MyRate.com, the MyRate program can generate lots of discussion, and sometimes people have strong opinions. And that’s OK. In fact, it’s this kind of feedback that will keep things interesting and worthwhile. So keep your comments coming! We look forward to lots of great ideas and dialogue.