Tuesday 19th February 2013

Citroen fits insurance black boxes

C1 will be the first car to feature a telemetry-recording device as standard

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Good thing or bad? That's what we've been trying to decide having seen this latest news story from Citroen this morning. What's got our tongues wagging is the French manufacturer's decision to equip its C1 Connexion special edition with a standard - in other words, non-optional - 'black box' recorder.

The knee-jerk reaction is to decry the ever-more-pervasive nose of Big Brother intruding into our driving habits, but Citroen reckons it's doing C1 buyers a favour. The addition of the black box, it says, will allow it to offer free insurance for a year to C1 buyers aged 19-25 with at least two years' no claims bonus. What's more, good driving behaviour will be rewarded by lower premiums in successive years, which should help combat the rising cost of insurance for young people.

A noble cause, then, but the fact you have to have the black box whether you like it or not will rankle for some people. Especially when you find out that there's no way to differentiate between drivers. Citroen says that it's for you as the owner of the car to decide whether the person you let behind the wheel is trustworthy enough not to drive the car recklessly - but of course, if they do, it'll be your next year's premiums they're harming. And that's before we even start on the implications for the future, and more widespread use of Big Brother-esque in-car devices. Eep.

[V6GTA]

Good for young drivers but hate the idea of these things.

[Fishy Dave]

Expect to see more sales for Peugeot and Toyota then....

[Dion20vt]

It's a good thing the C1 wont do much more than 70mph then?!

"What's more, good driving behaviour will be rewarded by lower premiums in successive years, which should help combat the rising cost of insurance for young people."

^^^ Isn't this the whole point of NCB??

[kambites]

Given how inaccessible motoring is becoming for young drivers due to insurance costs, I think it's a good thing overall. I think for many young drivers it is probably now a choice between having one of these boxes and driving sensibly, or not driving at all.

[Kozy]

I doubt that thing would generate sufficient G forces in any direction to set any alarms off. Nothing to see here.

Worrying for the future though. This WILL become mandatory under the EU.

[loudlashadjuster]

[nedward]

I thought there was already a scheme in place that rewards careful drivers, "no claim discount"!?
They say that it will help young drivers but they will only cover 19 to 25 with two years no claim discount. So it is only for youngsters who have already proved that they can drive for two years without making a claim.
JOKE!

[kambites]

Kozy said:

Worrying for the future though. This WILL become mandatory under the EU.

It may become mandatory on new cars. I can't see it ever being mandated on existing ones, though - the costs involved would be too high.

[StottyZr]

My initial response was ... very negative to say the least. But I never intend on owning a Citroen C1, all the 19-25year olds can drive around in their GPS monitored C1s whilst I go buy a Evo VIII

[kambites]

nedward said:

I thought there was already a scheme in place that rewards careful drivers, "no claim discount"!?

The problem is, the NCB has a tendency to reward drivers who happen to have been lucky in the last few years as much as good ones.

[CoolHands]

Do we trust governments not to spy on it's citizens? Obviously, if you've nothing to hide... etc

[JD2329]

As with many developments that start off in a fairly inoccuous way, there is an inevitable 'creep' towards further acceptance. This could ultimately include people like us, who greatly value their freedom and individual responsibility.
If a manufacturer chooses to fit such a thing as standard it will only be a matter of time before they become more widespread.
Some may think I'm being a little OTT about this but we should all be very concerned.

[arkenphel]

Thin end of the wedge indeed. As much as i would like to champion the right to privace and humanity blah blah blah, the only reason I don't want this sh!te in my car is because very occasionally i like to drive like a cock. Sideways.

[Loplop]

I have a black box in my car.

It was my choice.

I'd never buy a car with one fitted from the factory.

[IATM]

JD2329 said:

As with many developments that start off in a fairly inoccuous way, there is an inevitable 'creep' towards further acceptance. This could ultimately include people like us, who greatly value their freedom and individual responsibility.
If a manufacturer chooses to fit such a thing as standard it will only be a matter of time before they become more widespread.
Some may think I'm being a little OTT about this but we should all be very concerned.

100% agree - A very worrying trend. I do not think this is good for anyone under any circumstances. People who do think this is a good idea are already sheep following what the gov tell them to do and say.

[kaiowas]

What happens to your insurance premium if you take a car equipped with one of these on track? A day of driving like a loon is sure to set all the red lights flashing back at base.

[kambites]

kaiowas said:

What happens to your insurance premium if you take a car equipped with one of these on track? A day of driving like a loon is sure to set all the red lights flashing back at base.

I think it has a GPS locator so it knows where you are, so it should know you aren't on the public road. What the insurance companies will do with the information that you've been doing track days will depend on whether the people who do track days end up statistically more or less likely to have an accident on the road.

[Gorbyrev]

Unfortunately had to happen. I am surprised it has taken this long. Insuring teens is so expensive that it merits specific models with telemetry. They would be doing the young people a favour if they fitted a speed limiter too. Once you have earned your stripes then you progress to a car without big brother in the boot. When first year insurance can easily top half the cost of a C1 there must be a market for this.

[Zajda]

kambites said:

Given how inaccessible motoring is becoming for young drivers due to insurance costs, I think it's a good thing overall. I think for many young drivers it is probably now a choice between having one of these boxes and driving sensibly, or not driving at all.

I think that overall it's a ridiculous idea. And certainly you don't need more of frightened slow drivers, watching their speedos instead of the road.

wikipedia said:

The boiling frog story is a widespread anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability of people to react to significant changes that occur gradually.

[The Hypno-Toad]

As an optional extra if the car is to be used by young drivers, good idea.

As a standard feature on any car, the thin end of an very worrying wedge.