The success that Progressive claims to be having having with its MyRate program may indicate some kind of softening on the part of consumers toward having their driving monitored. It may be that taking location monitoring out of the picture will reassure a sufficient number of drivers to make such programs viable. However, insurers should be aware that Americans' "Big Brother" fears are alive and well when considering launching similar programs.A writer named Edgeling details his misgivings about telematics in an entertaining and informative essay. The author describes the decision of a consumer named Scott Weires to forego buying a coveted Nissan GT-R. The car is everything he had hoped for, but he backs out of a deal when he discovers that it comes with a "black box" electronic data recorder that transmits telemetry allowing others to monitor his driving.

While acknowledging the utility of the technology, Edgeling smells a rat:

It also sounds pretty benign, even useful. But unlike Scott Weires, I'm a technology guy - and I have a very acute sense of how seemingly harmless new technologies have a tendency to metastasize into something far nastier and, usually, end up invading our privacy or diminishing our freedoms. And, perhaps due to my own driving history, the story of Weires and his Black Box had sirens going off in my head.
A blogger named Edgeling details his misgivings about telematics in an amusing essay. The author describes the decision of a consumer named Scott Weires to forego buying a coveted Nissan GT-R. The car is everything he had hoped for, but he backs out of a deal when he discovers that it comes with a "black box" electronic data recorder that transmits telemetry allowing others to monitor his driving.