Safe driver monitor

Could you be more specific about "crazy acceleration and braking?" What sort of numbers are you seeing?

I have no technical data on their monitor but many of them appear to plug into the OBD port. The challenge is most cars today use CANbus but our NHW11 uses ISO-9141/KWP2000.

We have seen instances with the ScangaugeII where the protocol detect logic is flawed. For the ScangaugeII, I've had to make a 'pig-tail' that passes only power, ground, K-line, and L-line. But the flawed logic would 'spike' the brake controller. It is entirely possible that their unit has a problem in the opposite direction, failure to properly interface to the OBD.

Another possibility, the OBD connector might be worn or corroded. You can try reseating the unit but that is a stretch. I suspect you have to remove it to retrieve the data and put it back in.

It may make more sense to contact their technical support and point out you have ISO-9141/KWP2000. Ask if they have a unit specific to that protocol.

Bob Wilson

 

You are giving away a bit of privacy with this monitor. Another way Big Brother is watching, recording your every driving move.

Beware,


DBCassidy

 

I agree 100%. I am not a paranoid person, but there are some things that we shouldn't willingly give up. There is no way of preventing the examination of this data to work against us in the future.

 

Already, in many jurisdictions, onboard data recorders are being seized by local law enforcement and dumped for possible use in injury and fatal accidents.

 

Ok, I found hits for "Octo USA" which points to:

• Technology & Data Center :: Octo Telematics - The reliable Way
• Clearbox and mobile data collections :: Octo Telematics - The reliable Way

I have not been able to find a technical tear-down of the unit. Do you have to remove it to upload the data or is it done automatically?

I could speculate but without disassembly, there are many possibilities:

• OBD connector power - has a direct line from the 12V power bus and ground. This can power whatever electronics is used internally.
• cell communications (?) - it might have a data service that uploads to the towers so it does not have to be disconnected. If so, SMS messages, short data, would make sense to require small "trip" records instead of a continuous message. One advantage is high resolution, timing, milliseconds.
• OBD data - the stock, emissions data includes vehicle speed but there are several "standards" of which ISO-9141/KWP2000 is the one we use.
• MEMS accelerometer - GCDC Usb-Accelerometer 3-axis Rechargeable Data Recorder has the advantage of high resolution and no dependance on the vehicle data but it is not trivial to deal with the data.

Could you give more details about how it is used? Does it stay in the car all the time? Could you take photos from all sides?

I did find a number of references to "pay as you go insurance" and apparently "Octo USA" is a common outsource for many insurance companies. But this does not address your original question about accuracy.

The Garmin 'nuvi' series GPS receivers have a built-in, GPS log. It is a little tricky to decode but there is software around that can handle the mechanics. However, I've found Garmin likes to consolidate GPS data into 'segments' of variable length. A GPS mouse will give one second data points including altitude and velocity.

The problem is "Octo USA" is very likely to be somewhat 'closed minded' about any problems with their products. Worse, the insurance company is not going to be technical.

Bob Wilson

 

Like most technologies, it is a two-edge sword:

I'm leaning towards a dash-cam system because I am only interested in a factual, recreation of any accident. Good, bad, or ugly, facts and data works for me.

Bob Wilson

 

Why? Have you been in a lot of accidents? Doesn't it seem a bit extreme to install anything like that for the purpose you have in mind? Most car accident cases don't go to court, so how would this data work for you and not against you? Not to mention privacy laws, surveillance, etc. come into play. I can see someone being hurt more than helped with this sort of technology. Sometimes the best intentions don't work out so well. I would talk to an Attorney to see what trouble you may get yourself into by doing such a thing. One that works against Insurance companies would probably be your best bet.

 

I'm interested in facts and data and really don't care about 'blame.' But I have done some initial testing with an iPhone based, dashcam application. What I found is reviewing my drive on the application revealed lazy driving practices that I had rationalized. Coasting through a stop sign at the end of our block comes to mind.

Well this is where we'll have to agree to disagree. I often find a photo captures a bit of reality that our minds can easily 'distort' at the time. But looking at the image(s) later gives one an independent view, the separation for an objective interpretation of what is really there. It is what works for me.

Bob Wilson

 

The richness of continuously streamed data (dashcam recording) trumps the situational presence (own vehicle and surroundings) of snapshots, but still needs parameters not usually recorded by a dash cam (throttle, brake, speed, axial and lateral acceleration, etc.)

 

They affordable ones I'm looking at have both forward and rear cameras. There are upscale ones with built-in GPS that are even more interesting. I would love to have one with OBD recording too. However, both GPS and OBD can be handled by other means:

• Graham mininscanner into a dedicated computer
• GPS mouse into a dedicated computer (one in the car)

Bob Wilson

 

Seems like another task for our smart phones, which already have all the hardware and connectivity required. In fact I just peeked into Google Play and it looks like Torque has an add on to overlay whatever OBD and/or GPS/map/accelerometer data you want on a video: Track Recorder(Torque OBD/Car) - Android Apps on Google Play. Maybe I'll try it and post a short clip.