Your Sense driver rating is built from five areas of your driving. Understanding what each one measures and what makes it improve gives you a clear picture of where to focus your attention.
Braking: How smoothly you slow down and stop.
Speeding: How consistently you stay within speed limits.
Rest: How alert and rested you are when driving.
Cornering: How steadily you navigate turns and bends.
Acceleration: How gradually you build up speed.
Each area contributes to your overall rating. Improving even one of them can make a meaningful difference to your score and to your renewal price.
The higher each of these driver ratings are (or the closer they are to green) the higher your overall driver rating will be!
How to improve your braking driver rating
What it measures
Your braking rating reflects how smoothly you slow down across your trips. The app registers events where braking is more abrupt than gradual and the fewer of those events, the better your rating.
Why it matters
Braking is one of the most impactful areas for your overall rating, and also one of the most responsive to small habit changes. Drivers who give themselves more following distance and more time to anticipate slowing traffic tend to see the biggest improvements here.
Smooth braking also puts less strain on your vehicle and uses fuel more efficiently so the benefits go beyond the score.
Tips to improve
Increase your following distance. More space ahead means more time to slow down gradually rather than sharply. A good rule of thumb is at least a two-second gap in normal conditions, more in wet weather.
Anticipate, don't react. Look further down the road for traffic lights, junctions, and traffic queues. Easing off the accelerator early and letting the car slow before applying the brake gently is the smoothest approach.
Stay focused. Abrupt braking often happens when something unexpected appears. Keeping your attention on the road ahead gives you more time to respond calmly.
How to improve your acceleration driver rating
What it measures
Your acceleration rating reflects how smoothly you build up speed. The app registers events where acceleration is more sudden than gradual and the fewer of those, the better your rating.
Why it matters
Smooth acceleration is largely a matter of habit, and it's one that tends to improve naturally as awareness increases. Gradual, steady acceleration is also easier on fuel and reduces wear on the vehicle.
Tips to improve
Press the accelerator gradually. A steady increase in speed from a stop or from slow traffic rather than a sudden push is what the rating responds to. There's rarely a situation where speed needs to build instantly.
Leave space in slow-moving traffic. In stop-and-go conditions, keeping a little distance ahead and rolling forward steadily rather than stopping and starting sharply makes a real difference to your acceleration rating.
Plan ahead at junctions. If you can see a light is about to turn green, or traffic ahead is moving off, a calm and gradual response beats a quick burst every time.
How to improve your cornering driver rate
What it measures
Your cornering rating reflects how smoothly you navigate bends and turns. The app registers events where the speed through a corner creates significant lateral force and the fewer of those, the better your rating.
Why it matters
Cornering is an area where small adjustments to approach speed make a significant difference. The key principle is simple: reduce speed before the corner, not during it.
Tips to improve
Slow down before you turn, not during. Entering a bend at a manageable speed and accelerating gently out of it is the smoothest technique and what your rating responds to.
Steer smoothly. Gradual, controlled steering movements through a bend keep the vehicle balanced and register well in the data. Abrupt corrections mid-corner have more impact on the score.
Adjust for conditions. Wet roads, gravel, or poor visibility all reduce traction. Taking corners more cautiously in these conditions is good practice and protects your rating.
In larger vehicles, allow extra margin. Vans and SUVs have a higher centre of gravity, which means they respond more to speed through corners. Being a little more conservative with cornering speed pays off.
How to improve your speeding driver rating
What it measures
Your speeding rating reflects how consistently you stay within posted speed limits across your trips. The app measures how frequently and how significantly your speed exceeds the limit on any given road.
Why it matters
Speed limits vary frequently especially in urban areas, near schools, and in roadworks zones. Consistently staying within them is one of the most straightforward ways to protect your rating, and it's also a habit that reduces risk on every journey.
Tips to improve
Treat limits as a ceiling, not a target. In poor conditions rain, fog, heavy traffic driving below the limit is often the right call, and the app takes overall driving quality into account.
Plan to leave earlier. A significant number of speeding events happen when drivers are running late. A few extra minutes built into the journey removes that pressure entirely.
Use cruise control on longer roads. On dual carriageways and motorways, cruise control helps maintain a steady speed without having to keep checking the speedometer.
Approach junctions and lights calmly. Speeding up to catch a green light or beat a queue rarely saves meaningful time and often costs you on the braking score too. A calm approach to junctions benefits both.
How to improve your rest driver rating
What it measures
Your rest rating reflects how alert you are when driving. The app picks up on patterns associated with driver fatigue things like extended periods behind the wheel without a break.
Why it matters
Fatigue affects driving more than most people realise, and it builds gradually rather than arriving suddenly. Taking regular breaks on longer journeys is the single most effective way to keep your rest rating strong and it makes every journey safer.
Tips to improve
Take a break every two hours on longer journeys. Even a short stop ten to fifteen minutes is enough to meaningfully reset your alertness. On very long drives, a 45-minute break after four and a half hours is a good benchmark.
Avoid driving late at night when possible. Energy levels naturally dip between midnight and 6am. If you have flexibility over when you travel, avoiding these hours makes a real difference.
Get enough sleep before long trips. Seven to eight hours the night before a long drive sets you up well. If you've had a disrupted night, factor that in before setting off.
Don't push through if you're tired. If fatigue sets in during a journey, stopping and resting is always the right call. No journey is worth the risk of driving exhausted.