Leave a Review SMARTtrek
Tracking software is questionable.
The smooth ride number is a joke. I drove right at the speed limit and only down shifted to stop. Very little breaking. I made sure to start from complete stops very slowly. I drove later at night so as to not have hard braking situations. I didn’t get above 65 but was in the high 90s on everything else. This is only one example of one of the flaws with one of the features. The rest of the measurements have noticeable flaws as well. The only reason I have this is for insurance, otherwise I wouldn’t trust it for accuracy if you don’t have to have it.Show lessBryan Tharnish
Developer Response
A phone score in the 90's is great! In general, green scores indicate that you are driving safely. As you know, Smooth Driving is a measure of how well the driver anticipates traffic flows based on the amount of acceleration and braking that are performed throughout the trip. It sounds like you've made adjustments to improve Smooth Driving over time.Inaccurate and Unreliable
The app is not a sufficient replacement for tracking devices attached to a vehicle based on prior experience with understandable data related to speed, breaking, turning, etc. That being said, the app is not horrible in regards to those measurements.
Where SMARTTrek fails miserably is with the phone habits score. A random number generator may be more accurate. I never touch my phone while driving. After reading that a phone mount can help my score if having it in my pocket reduced Phone habits scores, I got one and made several drives with it. My score, with zero use of my phone whatsoever, ranged from 47 to 93. It usually stays in the 70-ish range. Cannot determine why after 7 driver trips logged.
Please fix it or provide some explanation to help us control scores.Show lessDeuceaton
Developer Response
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Using a phone holder can improve your phone score overtime. The Phone Habits score measures the likelihood of an accident based on phone usage, even if you are using it hands-free, such as initiating or receiving a phone call or text, changing music, or entering locations while driving, including via Apple Car Play. Other tips are to set your location and select your music before starting your trip.Really Inconsistent
I agree with the user whose title was Tracking is Flawed.
I just canceled the app for inconsistencies on “smooth driving“ and the mode of transportation it selects.
I noticed it was increasingly giving me substantially lower scores on “smooth driving”.
I am a cautious driver who keeps space in between my car and other vehicles. I come to a smooth stop as often as I can and once stopped, I do not floor it. Yet, it seems I am not a smooth driver and it feels like this app continues to lower your score, which I bet will increase your premium, come renewal time…
As for mode of transportation, multiple times it showed that I was walking, when I was driving. One of those times it showed I walked 75 miles. I explained that I shouldn’t have to monitor the app that is monitoring me to get the information right.
I previously used Geico’s app and had no issues with it.
Right now, I am willing to pay 10% more to avoid the frustration with this app.Show lessezezdi
Developer Response
We're sorry that you didn't find SMARTtrek helpful. Our intent is to help build awareness of when, where and how to improve driving behaviors. The overall score measures the likelihood of having an accident based on a variety of risk factors. Since scores are determined over a period of months, a single event, score or trip may not have a significant impact on the overall score. Green scores indicate that you are driving safely and discounts earned will apply at every policy renewal.Lots of room to improve…
As others have mentioned, I never touch my phone when driving, yet often get a “phone use” score in the low-mid 90’s. I have a watch that pairs with my phone..if I check the time on my watch is that considered phone use? My phone is programmed to connect with my car’s sound system…is that verboten, too? Talking on a hands-free system is no different from talking with a passenger.
I’ve been given lower scores for braking, mostly for slowing down for a yellow light at busy intersection. I guess the app would prefer I step on the gas and risk running a red light? Additionally, I often see an icon for acceleration…when turning onto a street with moving traffic, one needs to accelerate to merge into the flow of traffic, yet when I do it, my score suffers.
I currently drive a Subaru, which isn’t the smoothest ride compared to other cars I’ve owned. As a result, my score for smooth driving is often in the 70s. Our neighborhoods have speed bumps which I take at a slower speed and I try to avoid potholes; apparently I’m penalized for this.
On one occasion, I made a few stops on the way home, the app actually tracked me walking around inside the grocery store.
Lastly, it’s draining my iPhone battery, I have to charge every day I drive. As stated earlier, there’s a lot of room for improvement!Show lessDebLark
Developer Response
A phone score in the low 90's is great! In general, green scores indicate that you are driving safely. The Phone Habits score measures the likelihood of an accident based on phone usage, even if you are using it hands-free. Smooth Driving is a measure of how well the driver anticipates traffic flows based on the amount of acceleration and braking that are performed throughout the trip. To improve your smooth driving, avoid sudden acceleration and hard braking, if possible. We are sorry to hear that the battery usage was significant on your device. When recording, the battery use is similar to other navigational apps and minimal when not recording.Just plain bad REVISED
The app has many flaws. * Phone habits - my phone is in my pocket, untouched for the entirety of each trip. Somehow I can be scored between 75 and 96. * Smooth driving - I take three blocks (1/2 mile) to go from a stop to 40 mph, and 2 blocks to slow to a stop at s signal, this scores me between 64 and 94. * Speed - on a recent trip I traveled 1.1 miles, it took 5 minutes, I did not hit 30 mph, score 65. I average 13 mph. * Time/Day - always below 90, early morning, drive time, midday, afternoon, any day of the week. Never a good time to drive * Mapping - half of my trips it shows starting 1/4 mile or farther from my actual start, done show me driving through yards and buildings. It just plain misses a good 10% of my trips. * Duration - some trips show 15 minute duration, for trips that actually were less than five. It records an end after I have been in my house watching TV for 5 minutes. If the app doesn’t know when I start or end a trip or where I actually drive, how can it accurately measure my speed, acceleration, or braking?
This App continues to map my trips through golf courses, houses, shopping centers, etc.. Also shows I accelerate (low or high severity) just before I get to a red light. I am actively breaking at that time.
Although my overall score is very good, this is not a tool to help improve driving safety, it is just arbitrary numbers assigned with no explanation of what you can do to improve.Show less62 dan
Developer Response
Thank you for your feedback. Driving scores are determined over a period of many trips, miles, and months in some cases. Typically, a single event, score, or trip may not have a significant impact on the overall score. Keeping your phone in your pocket while driving can adversely affect your score. Using a phone holder will help keep your phone stationary and improve your score. Also, it can take up to ¾ mile for a trip to start recording. If the phone loses GPS, it can miss a trip.It’s not accurate, annoying and far too invasive
It will never be necessary for AAA nor Smart Trek to know what you’re doing on your phone while driving yet it still collects that information.
Let’s talk about how inaccurate this app is. I changed lanes to make a turn in the app it docked that as “speeding” and “not smooth driving”! So sorry let me never make a turn again so I can get a good score!
I drive on this road that’s a bumpy ride for everyone and I get docked for not smooth driving every time. So sorry let me get all I need and construct on the road myself so I can get a good score!
Seriously nothing about this app promotes a healthy relationship with the user. This is something no GROWN ADULT should ever have stalking them and critiquing them.Show lessElsaRena011
New to SMARTtrek app
The “Smooth Driving” feature doesn’t take into account “flow-of-traffic”. Locally we have a lot of stop-n-go and short distances between lights, this feature doesn’t like that. So I decided to drive the mile+ to my Saturday Evening Services like a little old lady. I received a “56”!?! Also, it gave me a 60 something score in the feature “Time of Day”. These two algorithms need a lot of work if I’m to keep subscribing to this service. On another issue, this app is sucking the power from my iPhone battery! Since adding this app, I’ve had to charge my iPhone every day! I found out it uses 40% of my battery’s energy consumption daily, hence the frequent charging.Show lessButch the EE
Developer Response
We are sorry to hear that the battery usage was significant on your device. When recording, the battery use is similar to other navigational apps and minimal when not recording. The Time And Day score measures the likelihood of an accident during a specific time of day. Driving late at night and during weekday commute hours are risky times to avoid, if you can. Phone movement, regardless of where it is in the vehicle, can influence the smooth driving score. Using a phone holder can help keep your phone stationary.Should definitely be better
I love that I get almost real time feedback on my driving. But I don’t trust them because of the opacity of their model as well as the vested interest that the insurance companies have to raise rates. Specifically,
1. The app’s idea of “smooth driving” may not reflect real life. I drive on a US highway three or more round trips a week that has traffic lights. Speed limits range from 45-55 mph. I don’t know how the app rates drivers on this.
2. “Time and day” gives me real pause. Based on my trips, it looks like I should drive between 5:45 AM and 6:45 AM or around 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM at night. Seriously? This gotcha.
3. I very rarely use my phone when driving. There have been instances where I’ve not had any incoming calls or texts and I get 95. How does one get a 100?
I understand insurance company concerns, but their history of lobbying to essentially screw customers in NJ, I don’t trust this app at all. I’ll wait until my renewal time before any actionShow lessVenksub17
Developer Response
Thank you for the feedback. We understand that you cannot always control when and where you drive. The Time And Day score measures the likelihood of an accident during a specific time of day. Driving late at night and during weekday commute hours are risky times to avoid, if you can. Green scores indicate you are driving safely, so a 95 is outstanding. We hope that you continue to use SMARTtrek.Good enough
The way the phone use scoring works will definitely make your overall score go down. I keep my phone in a mount or in my pocket and have stopped interacting with my phone through the steering wheel. Even with no notifications popping up my score will go down. I don’t have a problem with the other scoring categories, but just be ready to be super paranoid about the existence of your phoneShow lesskbrli
Moving the phone vs using the phone
If you’re going to design a app to babysit (spy?) on drivers, the least you could do is figure out a way to determine the difference between someone using their phone while driving and picking up their phone to move it somewhere else.AveLupine
