Incentives to improve driving habits have officially come to Mexico with the arrival of the “smart mobility” app, CLUPP.
Dedicated to protecting citizens in big cities, this insurance technology platform provides benefits to motorists on their best behavior. Meaning no more cell phones behind the wheel.
“With the application, we seek to reduce the use of the phone while driving,” said CEO Marisol Sánchez Navarrete, who co-founded the company alongside Omar López Tronco. “This is measured with the sensors of the phone and we give a bad rating to the drivers who do it.”
Rather than enforcing punishments for reckless driving, part of CLUPP’s plan is to provide a reward scheme, allowing users to accumulate points for each kilometer traveled in exchange for prizes.
“We encourage drivers to improve driving habits,” said Sánchez. “Current schemes are punitive, such as fines or penalties, so we wanted to turn this around and provide them with rewards which they can use every day to improve.”
Some of the perks include discounts at restaurants, parking lots and coffee shops. Other compensations include movie tickets and up to 40-percent discounted car services. Among the 70 discounted brands available over the application are Cinepolis, Cinemex, Spee Dee and Doctor Auto, among others.
With its sensor-based technology, CLUPP measures speed, acceleration, braking, turning, and cellphone use when vehicles are operating. From this comes a rating to determine awards that users are entitled to.
Strong incentives
Through innovation and entrepreneurship, the Mexican startup wants to reduce the number of traffic incidents in its native country. Road-related fatalities continue to be one of the top ten leading causes of death in Mexico according to the 2017 Road Safety Status Report.
Every year, around 11,000 people die from car-related accidents, according to the National Public Security System. On a daily basis, the average death toll in Mexico due to bad driving is close to 33. This is why public and private agencies have supported CLUPP to motivate drivers to respect the speed limit and safety of others.
Another layer of complications for Mexico comes from the lack of insured car users. Only 28 percent of vehicles reportedly have insurance. Fortunately, though, CLUPP offers insurance plans at reasonable rates over the platform.
Cell phone use while driving also increases the probability of disaster by four times, according to the World Health Organization.
There are three parts of CLUPP’s business model. First, it sells insurance over the platform. Secondly are the payments which reward providers make to advertise on the app. Lastly, the premium version costs around 200 pesos annually.
So far, this service is only available in Mexico City due to more severe traffic demands. However, it will likely spread to Guadalajara in the near future. Today there are around 3,000 Android and 2,000 iOS users registered.
By the end of the year, CLUPP expects more than 30,000 drivers will be registered over the platform. It also intends to soon expand to Chile.