When it comes to mobile applications from insurance companies, you may have noticed that most of them are awful. In fact, the State Farm insurance app has garnered terrible user reviews on the iTunes store. So it’s fairly surprising that they’ve managed to create a completely different app that offers useful features and has earned rave reviews from users. Unfortunately, it won’t help you with your insurance woes, but the free Driver Feedback application, developed by State Farm’s Automobile Insurance wing, is actually pretty handy, providing tons of features that work with your smartphone to help you become a safer driver through feedback. And it can compile data for any driver, which is why plenty of parents would like to download it onto the mobile devices of their teen drivers. Here’s how it works.

As you drive, the application records your progress. Utilizing features like GPS and the accelerometer, it then analyzes the data in order to tell you what you’re doing wrong. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have information regarding speed limits in your area, so it won’t know when speeding occurs, but it does follow trips on a map, so if you happen to know the speed limits posted around your area you can figure out where speeding occurred. What it really tracks is three of the most common risky driving behaviors, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which are speedy acceleration, hard stops, and swerving. It then compiles the data from your trip and gives you a score so that you can see whether you’re performing up to snuff behind the wheel or if you’re falling short in terms of driver safety.

You can see alerts on a map that help you to pinpoint areas where risky driving behaviors appeared, just in case you’re having a little too much fun on that windy canyon road. And you can even compare two trips to see your score improve as you take the hints provided by the app into account on your next outing. Even better, though, the app supports multiple users, which means you can put it into play when others are driving (like your spouse or a teen driver) in order to show them where they might improve. You can also send results via email or text, just in case they don’t believe you. And if you’re smart, you’ll make downloading the app a condition of allowing your teens to take the car. They might get wily and turn their phones off while driving, but at least you’ll know they’re not driving distracted (texting or talking while operating a moving vehicle).

One final feature is bound to appeal to anyone who uses this app. While you might be worried about what your insurer will do with this information about your driving habits, you needn’t lose any sleep over the prospect. The information is for your benefit only, a means of helping you correct bad habits on the road. As a result, none of the data will be seen by State Farm. The app might not provide coverage for your car or the items inside (like protect your bubble iPhone insurance), but it will help to make you a safer driver. That seems a lot more useful than an app that lets you view your policy on the go.