This is not me but this is how I felt when I saw that my SnapShot grade was an A+. YES!!

You know who this is, right? Yes! It’s Flo, the Progressive girl who many may recognize over their child’s principle.

I was given the opportunity to test drive Progressive’s new Snapshot device that plugs in to a car’s on-board diagnostic (OBD) port, usually found below the steering wheel.  The first time the car is turned on after installing the Snapshot device and every time thereafter while the device is in the port, you will hear a short series of beeps.  That’s my reminder to drive smart and safe!

While I had the Snapshot device installed I drove my normal, every day routes, but I also drove an hour away to a party for a friend of mine’s son.  It was during that drive that I was most nervous about my Snapshot grade but if Snapshot taught me anything, it is that we drive most defensively when close to home.   I learned that while I was on the unfamiliar highway to the party that I drove more carefully than usual, in unfamiliar situations.  During that two-hour round trip I did not receive one triple-beep warning sound which would have indicated that I hard-braked or accelerated too fast.

However, when driving on the roads closest to my home, doing normal everyday things is when I got the beep.  Darn!
It’s during these mini-trips to the grocery store, to my mom’s house, to Boy Scouts, and to Gymnastics class that I am not paying as much attention as I could be and therefore, I got the triple beep.

Once the Spanshot device is installed, the driver doesn’t have to do anything to send data to Progressive.  Nice, huh?  During my 30 day trial, I checked my grade on the Snapshot website almost every day.  Here is what I saw.. every day, if I remember correctly.

About two weeks into my trial, I had surgery. This is when I started getting nervous. Gosh, just knowing that my husband had to drive my car a couple of times stressed me out. Not because I was worried he would get a ding or run over a curb because my car is about 5 times larger than his.. NO! I was worried that he was going to ruin my A+ driving grade. Much like I imagine I’ll do when Sebastian starts driving in a few years, I talked to my husband in length about safe and non-defensive driving. I told him that he CAN’T hard break or accelerate too fast (his weakness). Much to my surprise, he complied. He did great! He was very respectful of my A+ and did what he needed to do to help maintain the grade.

THEN.. my sister came to town to help take care of me after my emergency surgery which was two weeks after my initial surgery.  I didn’t have the energy to get nervous or worry about her driving but darned if she didn’t get the triple-beep several times. Shoooot!

As you can see in the image below, Snapshot detected 1.4 hard brakes per 100 miles.  I’m sure those were not from me.  Actually, I have to admit, I hard braked at least once.  Just as I mentioned above, I was driving close to home when someone pulled in front of me (for real) on a two lane road.  I had to brake hard in order to not hit the car so I guess the triple-beep didn’t hurt my feelings too much because I knew I was driving safely.

Other information about my driving that’s included in the image below is how many rapid accelerations I had per 100 miles and my average mileage, which turns out to be low compared to most drivers.

Here’s some information about Snapshot:

Progressive is changing the way drivers pay for auto insurance by creating a personalized insurance rate based on how you drive. With Snapshot*, available exclusively from Progressive, your safe driving can save you up to 30 percent on your car insurance. Plus, now anyone can try Snapshot – you don’t even need to switch your insurance. Drivers currently enrolled in the program on average save $150 per year.

The device records and sends the driving data to Progressive, and we use that information to calculate their rate. After 30 days, customers will find out if they’re eligible for a discount – up to 30 percent – based on that 30-day “snapshot” of their driving habits. At the end of a six-month policy period, Progressive calculates the renewal discount and customers return the device to Progressive. Drivers’ rates can’t go up with Snapshot. And the discount is not  based on location or speed. The device does not have GPS, so we don’t know where the car is. In addition, we don’t take into account how fast the car goes.

Learn more about Snapshot and how you can try it out here on the Snapshot FAQ page and learn more from this cute animation video:

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Progressive.

One more thing.. take a look at the badges I earned:

Apparently I have a sixth sense, I’m a happy squirrel, a smooth operator, and a social butterfly, just to name a few!  I love it!  Sometimes I logged into Snapshot just to see what badges I’ve earned!

Enter to win a Team Flo Swag Pack!

Disclosure: I received a 30 day trial and gift cards for being a part of the Progressive Snapshot Blogger Program.  All thoughts are 100% my own and were not influenced in any way.