Safe Speed Forums

My gf has been phoned by her insurance company (Direct Line) this evening asking if she wants to take part in a scheme to 'reduce her premiums'. It seems they are offering 17-25s the opportunity to have a box fitted to their cars (for free) to record certain parameters (its not GPS, my first question!) and offer variable discounts for only using the car between 6am and 10pm and for remaining under 77mph at all times.

They are offering 10% premium rebate for adhereing to the time constraints, and up to 15% for remaining under 77mph at all times (it has no idea what speed limit you are in). You are permitted a certain number of 'transgressions', with the rebate %age reducing with each.

She has asked them to call her back on Friday, to give us time to compile a list of questions we would like answering before agreeing to anything. So far I have come up with the following, but would appreciate everyone's input as to others I may have overlooked:

* How does it obtain speed data? (we all know that most speedos overread by a factor of up to 10%, but I can't see them fitting any other speed measuring device when one already exists, so presumably the '77mph' would be indicated, not true groundspeed)
* Will it log all useage data, or just record 'triggers' (time of day or speed violations)?
* Does it monitor anything other than time and speed?
* Who has access to the data?
* Will the data be used in any other way than calculating premium rebates?
* Could data of repeated 'transgressions' result in incresed premiums? (or not decreased at the rate they would otherwise with time)
* How long will the box have to remain fitted?

I would presume that, even if they were to pass on the data to police/SCPs who may try to use it for enforcement, the lack of a location for the alleged offence would cause any prosecution to fail.

It seems like one of those potentially too-good-to-be-true offers, and I am automatically wary of any sort of monitoring of private life, particularly in the current political climate.

Anyone heard anything about this or have any comments?

Save yourself any bother. Just say NO! Personally, if my insurance company offered me something like that, I'd be quick to tell them that I'm going to look for another insurance company. You are on a slippery slope with every right to express doubts about this scheme. It's not too late to get off it. Remember, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

_________________
Anyone who tells you that nothing is impossible has never bathed in a saucer of water.

don't they have something like this in america, reduced premiums if you carry a video based black box? The idea being people drive better when they know evidence is being recorded, plus it's great for the insurance company if fault lies with the other driver.

was wondering about something simular myself, pondering building a computer based around dash-mounted touchscreen for the van, mainly mp3 playback and satnav, but you could also stick a webcam on the dash and have it recording a 10 sec loop ready to save at the press of a button (or a g-sensor)

_________________
Fear is a weapon of mass distraction

here's one... why do they think it's safe to do 76mph on the local high street but not 80mph on an empty motorway?

There's only one thing for sure here - they've worked out that this means extra profit for them.

_________________
Wake me up when the revolution starts
STOP the Toll Tax http://www.traveltax.org.uk

I couldn't agree more. Just say no.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

And the scary aspect of that is that they're most interested in the 'down the line' profit when their track record buys them an 'in' to the governement road pricing dream.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Good points all, however they have assured us that it is not GPS tracking.

One thing that concerns me is the potential for this device to cause cost priorities to take an equal or greater place in the driver's psyche than safety issues.

If it does indeed just record transgressions in a binary fashion then will going over and staying over just count as one? This could encourage drivers who have gone over, on a motorway most likely, to try to keep their speed up, to avoid 'completing' the transgression, and then having a second if they speed back up.

As far as the police, or other enforcement agencies, having access to the data, I think its likely that, despite DPA restrictions, they will find some 'national security' reasons to demand it anyway!

The concept of 'profit down the line' also worries me; if a driver does blip the limit more frequently are they going to find themselves, in addition to receiving less or no rebate, being categorised as higher risk drivers and not offered the same policy discounts as their experience increases?

interesting.. from a technical standpoint:


* How does it obtain speed data? (we all know that most speedos overread by a factor of up to 10%, but I can't see them fitting any other speed measuring device when one already exists, so presumably the '77mph' would be indicated, not true groundspeed)

most likely picking up wheel/vehicle speed information from the ABs on CAN bus.... which may have a better tolerance than the displayed speed

* Will it log all useage data, or just record 'triggers' (time of day or speed violations)?

depends how often it's uploaded as to how much memory they can afford to use

* Does it monitor anything other than time and speed?

if it is just on the CAN then there's alot of stuff it could use, potentially steer angle? lat acc / yaw rate, abs / esp activation.....

PS should i point out that if it Is on CAN .... pretty easy to intercept & bypass

I do this and it works, but I need to find some way to fit a polarising filter, otherwise you can't see any road markings. I keep 5 minutes though, rather than 10 secs.

PM me if you have any questions, or pop over to digital-car.co.uk for more genral Car PC building advice.

cheers, I've been looking for a forum/resource like that!

I may take you up on that offer but it'll be later in the year when I get my (proposed) new van, VW can stick their £1700 satnav option...

_________________
Fear is a weapon of mass distraction