Taxi Driver Online

All new cars must have 'black box' spying device fitted from next year

May 18, 2014 17:32
By Adrian Shaw

EU regulations say all new cars must have built in spy box from October next year which will track speed and driving habits
Black box: New invention from next year

Motorists will be forced to have spy in the car technology which will track their speeds and other driving habits or face sky high insurance premiums.

The devices, similar to the black boxes on aeroplanes , will be fitted as standard on all new cars under EU regulations from October next year.

The so-called “telematics” technology will enable insurers to keep track of how fast their customers drive, how hard they brake and how many journeys a year they undertake.

If they refuse to take part, drivers will face huge increases in their annual insurance premiums.

Research by the industry predicts that about half of all cars - including used vehicles - will be fitted with the spying devices by 2020,

Andy Watson, chief insurer of the Ageas Group, said: “The ability to have telematics will become mainstream because the technology will be in the car. It means the amount of data available to insurers increases dramatically.”

Tom Ellis, of the comparison website Gocompare, said: “In ten years time there will still be customers who prefer not to have a telematics device installed but it will be an opt out situation rather than an opt in.

“There will be reasons for people opting out - perhaps because they are bad drivers, or unhappy with the privacy element or have an old car but they will have to accept a higher premium to insure their car.”

The device was originally invented to help the emergency services track down crashed vehicles.

Pete Williams, of the RAC, said that motoring organisations felt that the introduction of the devices was inevitable.

He added: “We are working with the industry to make sure control of such data is retained by the individual motorist but for the vast majority of motorists it will be a good thing with regard to things like safety and vehicle recovery.”

The Department of Transport commissioned research into telematics earlier this year and a spokesman said: “The research will help us build a better understanding of how it can influence driver behaviour.

“We want to see how effective it can be in improving driver behaviour and reducing accident risk.”


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/new-cars-must-black-box-3563221

Be afraid, be very afraid as this is your future and your now.

Buses and lorries have had them for years. Tachographs.

Buses and lorries now have telematics fitted as an optional extra. Maybe in our industry it'll stop some of the drivers driving excessive hours. The totalitarian regime has been here for years in the form of CCTV everywhere, I'm glad others are waking up to it now it's going to be in the car with you.

I already fit trackers in all my vehicles.

_________________
Grandad,

A trackers for your own purposes, but to be snooped on by both an EU super state and Vehicle Insurers whilst driving our cars is just a step to far, George Orwells Big brother has feck all on these people. in less than 20 years we have become spied upon from cradle to grave and with every day that passes we are being subjected to even stricter and life controlling regulations from the EU, a lot of driven by the needs and greeds of large Corporations.

the ECHR is just a fecking joke, it's a Mask, it pretends it's looking after all our interests and welfare, yet it spouts laws on the trivialities while it ignores the complete subjugation and domination of all of us by it's ugly sister the EU who hates the concept of liberty.

I feel sorry for our children, I at least experienced some freedom prior to us joining the common market, future generations will experience no such freedom ever in their strictly controlled lives, all there freedoms having been eroded within half a generation..poor beggars.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
"Benjamin Franklin"

How many millions of these things will be fitted? How are they going to monitor all of them? How will they know if a driver gets out and a new driver gets in? There are folk on here that advocate the use of even more snooping than this.

_________________
Grandad,

Get a grip
If anyone is going to spy on you, it'll be the British state via GCHQ. They have form for it

_________________

http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Them as well !!...It's like we are all Homosapien lab rats in some sort of horrible Voyeurish social experiment created by the ministry of weird Psychology and human shaftation

It'll be impossible to monitor everyone who's had one of these boxes installed. I bet they'll only access them in the event of an accident,

I doubt they'd be monitored in real time. More likely each vehicle will 'dial in' once every week or month and upload its stored data, or when the insurance company requests it such as after an accident or the vehicle is stolen.

I'm sure there will be ways round it such as putting the device in a vehicle that does less mileage or fitting a switch to turn the box off so it only records some journeys.