Driving in the city is no walk in the park, and comes with a lot of annoyances and errors. It’s either weaving in and out of rush hour traffic or searching for parking that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg and avoiding parking tickets. Luckily, digital innovations are making city driving a little easier.
Dude, where’s my car?
When circling the four-block radius near your apartment over and over again looking for a spot, you end up parking in a different location each night. The next day, you find yourself scrambling to remember where you left that piece of machinery. With the Metromile Pulse (given to all per-mile insurance customers), a car locator will keep you notified on your smartphone on where your car is at all time. Metromile has even helped customers recover their stolen car with this feature!
Orange is not the new black
We’ve all thought about what would happen if you just ripped up that orange envelope left on your dashboard when you accidentally parked on street sweeping day, forgot to pay the meter, or turned your wheels the wrong way on a hill. In this digital age, ripping up the ticket isn’t an option, but avoiding the ticket all together is! Here are some hot tips:
- Nothing is more confusing than street sweeping days. In Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, the Pulse will send a street sweeping alert to your smartphone if you are parked on that street and can save you that big fine.
- Many cities now have mobile payments available for their parking meters (such as Parkmobile or PayByPhone) making feeding the meter that much easier, even if it runs out while you’re still enjoying dinner.
- In the Bay Area and other hilly cities, remember to turn your wheels in a way that if the car were to roll, the curb would stop the fall. So, parking uphill you would turn your wheels away from the curb, and parking downhill you would turn your wheels towards the curb. Then pull the parking brake.
- Speed racer slow down! Apps like Waze, Escort and Garmin U.S.A pull in data for red light cameras and gives users the ability to tag police-car locations to help driver avoid those pesky driving tickets.
One way…or another
You might not admit it, but you’ve probably been there. You’re cruising to Crossfit, belting out your favorite jams, when you spot a shortcut, take a left and– you’re headed the wrong way on a one-way street. Don’t panic, but quickly assess the situation before making your next move to pull over and circle back. Download the Google Maps or Waze app to be sure you have the shortest – and safest – trip to your destination.
With Metromile’s pay-per-mile car insurance offering, not only could you save a ton of money on insurance, but you also get access to helpful things like sweet sweeping alerts and a car locator. Metromile’s smart driving app gives you information on trips and trends, fuel levels, car health diagnoses and more. Learn more here!