by An Innovative Approach to Road Safety
Every country strives to make its roads safer. Some use strict laws and control, others resort to technology. Korea has introduced a new strategy which, in their view, has prevented over 30 thousand accidents. This strategy is in the form of a game, but it is tied to technologies that raise questions about privacy.
Results of the Tmap Program
The Tmap navigation app, the most popular in Korea, claims that its driving score system helped prevent 31,366 accidents between 2018 and 2020. This figure is based on an internal model that compares the accident rates of drivers with high and low scores. Although the data has not been independently verified, it demonstrates how the gamified approach to safety has gained traction in Korea.
How the System Works
According to the Korea Herald, the formula is simple: phones with the app installed track acceleration, braking, cornering, and speeding. The smoother the drive, the higher the score. These scores translate into benefits, such as insurance discounts or gift credits. By the end of 2024, Tmap reported 19 million participants, over 10 million of whom had received rewards.
Competitors and the Social Aspect
Competitors have also introduced similar systems: Kako Map in 2022, Naver Map in 2024, even the Socar rental platform joined in. Unlike in most countries, these scores are public, integrated into the apps Koreans use daily, and ranked against other drivers so everyone can see their standing.
This is one of the few competitions where everyone wins when scores go up. Safer driving reduces the risk of accidents, insurance companies save on payouts, and drivers save money. It’s a rare alignment of interests.
Privacy Concerns
As with all car-related technologies, safety has a serious downside: privacy. The collection and sharing of driving behavior data is not unique to Korea. In the US, companies like LexisNexis and automakers like GM have faced lawsuits over how driving data, collected through similar apps, was shared with insurance companies. Critics warn that what starts as voluntary score tracking can quickly evolve into a broader surveillance system with minimal safeguards.
Balancing Safety and Privacy
Safer roads are a universal goal, and the gamified approach to driving seems to incentivize better habits among drivers. However, the price of this progress—the handing over of potentially sensitive data—remains an open question. Korea’s experiment shows the promise of incentive methods compared to restrictions, but also the risks associated with a surveillance system potentially being much deeper than people realize.
Korea’s experience could become an important example for other countries seeking effective ways to reduce accidents. However, it is important to consider that technologies aimed at safety should not ignore citizens’ rights to protect their personal data. Future developments in this field will likely focus on finding a balance between these two aspects to achieve maximum effectiveness without infringing on freedoms.
