Distraction events in Mentor are meant to bring awareness to unsafe behaviors that pull your attention away from the road.
There are two types of distractions scored in Mentor:
- Phone manipulation / movement: This is determined by sensors within your handset. These sensors are used to detect certain phone usage, such as movement, text messaging, calls, email, swipe-closing a notification, or app use.
Any movement of or hands-on interaction with your device (whether by yourself or a passenger) while you are driving will count as a Distraction event. This includes picking up your phone, unlocking the screen, placing or answering a call, responding to a text, email, or message, and sudden device movements. Continued phone movement will result in subsequent Distraction events.
Additionally, if your device is not secured and can move around in a bag or in the glove compartment, you may also receive a Distraction event. Secure your device to prevent unnecessary movement and to prevent an unintended Distraction event. - Phone calls / messages: This is triggered when an outgoing call is placed, when an incoming call is answered, or when you respond to messages while driving. Both hands-free and handheld calls that are placed or received while driving will count as Distraction events. Calls will be detected using the keypad, Bluetooth, voice assistant, live voicemail, or any other app with call capabilities (FaceTime, WhatsAPP, etc.).
The safest driving practice is to eliminate distractions that will take your attention off the road. There is little to no difference in brain distraction between handheld and hands-free phone use; they are equally distracting. Although interacting with steering wheel or radio controls, Apple CarPlay, or Android Auto may not affect your triggered events, it does take your attention from the driving task and increases your risk of a collision.
To avoid Distraction events, make sure your trip has ended before you interact with your device. If you are stopped and safely parked, you can manually end your trip in the app or wait at least three (3) minutes after your trips ends. Additionally, if Mentor detects movement, such as walking, it will automatically end your trip.
If you are a passenger or are using public transportation or a rideshare service, you might need to adjust your trip settings after the trip is completed to avoid an unintentded Distraction event that could affect your score and risk ratings.
For Trips-based settings, trips should be marked as Passenger or Personal on the Trips page in Mentor. Passenger and Personal trips are not scored and are not calculated as part of your rolling 7-day FICO® Safe Driving Score. If you are a Trip-based driver and Mentor logs your trip as a Driver, you can change the status in your Trips page up to 7 days after the trip was completed.
For shift-based settings, only the trips taken after Auto-shift has started or after you manually set your trips to start would count as Driver and would contribute to your FICO Safe Driving Score.
The first phone manipulation is penalized harshly, with nearly half of the maximum deduction assigned. After the first phone manipulation, there is a sliding scale of deductions, with higher penalties for increasing numbers of phone manipulations. Talking to passengers in the vehicle will NOT count as a Distraction event.
To keep your phone secure and prevent unintended Distraction events, stow it in a secure place where it cannot move or slide around, or use a safe in-vehicle device mount, such as a charging cradle. If it is stored where it can move around, this motion may be detected and could result in a Distraction event.
Note: Incoming calls, emails, or texts / notifications while driving will NOT count as a phone manipulation if you do not respond to them or swipe away notifications. Interacting with voice assistants (such as Siri and Google) can trigger a Distraction event. Live voicemail (iOS) will only count as a Distraction event if the feature is turned on and active.