Tom Bousquet is a member of the public Facebook group “Roller Coaster Enthusiasts Club.” The Fremont, Ohio resident recently visited Kings Island outside of Cincinnati. There, he rode “The Beast,” the amusement park’s famous wooden roller coaster, several times. Afterward, Bousquet caught an “amusing” error in his insurance company’s app.

Geico’s app tracks routes its auto insurance policyholders take.

It also displays customer driving “scores” as part of its optional “EasyDrive” program. Scores adjust based on collected data. Apparently, the app misinterpreted the roller coaster’s twists and turns for bad driving.

“This is hilarious,” Bousquet posted to the Facebook group. “Those red dots indicate where the app incorrectly assessed my cornering and braking skills and lowered my driving score.”

As it turns out, the app tracked the roller coaster’s layout as Bousquet rode it, interpreting it as a driven path.

A map from the app shows sharp cornering points and areas the company’s tech interpreted as the policyholder “braking poorly.” The track is pretty obviously not a wild road Bousquet went joyriding on.

This week, the incident quickly gained attention. It’s become part of a broader discussion on exactly how much monitoring insurance companies – or any entity, for that matter – should be allowed to perform on Americans.

For one thing, in theory, errors such as this can trigger a car insurance premium increase. Moreover, it could be done without a more official authority, like a police-issued traffic citation, involved.

Bousquet explained on a local radio station that the Geico EasyDrive app has settings users toggle to let the company know whether they are a driver or passenger. The app also allows users to define the vehicle type they’re traveling in, whether it be a boat, plane, bus, or train, for example.

In any case, the Roller Coaster Enthusiasts Club Facebook post comments lit up with dozens of followers opposing apps like this.

If he hasn’t already, Bousquet will need to contact Geico and let it know of the error to avoid a permanent ding to his company-fabricated driving score.

Editor’s note: After publishing this story, Geico Corporate Communications reached out to MotorBiscuit with the following response:

“Rest assured, we account for bicycle rides, trains, flights or even a customer on a roller coaster. To ensure that our optional DriveEasy program – part of our GEICO mobile app – uses accurate driving data, the app provides customers with an opportunity to update past trips in case any activity was recorded where a customer was not driving a vehicle. In this instance, Mr. Bousquet would be able to easily open DriveEasy, select the trip that was recorded at Kings Island, and update his role to ‘other’ to account for his rollercoaster ride…Trips where someone is a passenger or participating in some other activity that doesn’t include them driving is not included in a customer’s driving score.”

If a customer forgets to correct trip roles, though, could a lowered score based on false data mean a premium increase down the line? I asked Geico Corporate Communications about this. Here is their response:

“At each renewal, the insurance rate will automatically adjust based on their driving score. Most customers will be able to save based on their safe driving habits. Riskier drivers may see a higher rate depending on the state they live in. This is an optional program, and customers are provided with instructions on how to adjust their role from either ‘driver’ to ‘passenger’ or ‘driver’ to ‘other’ if the role is not accurate.”

So, in theory, yes, false “trip role” data left uncorrected could lead to a disadvantageous premium change.