Drivers say NO to black boxes in cars

Magneti Marelli telematics box uses GPS to monitor position, a three-axis accelerometer to measure acceleration and braking, and a cellphone connection to tell Big Brother.

Magneti Marelli telematics box uses GPS to monitor position, a three-axis accelerometer to measure acceleration and braking, and a cellphone connection to tell Big Brother.

Published Jul 22, 2014

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Derby, England - The overwhelming majority of motorists want to shelve EU plans to introduce so-called 'spy boxes' in cars, according to a new poll by UK car supermarket Motorpoint.

A web-based survey found that 71.5 percent of the almost 2000 drivers who responded to the poll on the company's website opposed regulations that will see 'black boxes' built into all new cars from October 2015 to monitor each driver's speed as well as driving habits.

BIG BROTHER IN THE BACK SEAT

The "telematics" technology would keep track, Big-Brother style, of how fast their customers drive, how hard they brake and how many journeys a year they take. It's based on the eCall system that is used by a number of car manufacturers to make it easier for the emergency services to track crashed vehicles.

INSURANCE PENALTY

Anybody who refuses to have a 'black box' fitted retrospectively to an existing vehicle could see a spike in their insurance premiums as a result. Furthermore, motorists won't be able to switch off the device and testing, to see that it's still operational, is expected to become part of the roadworthy test.

Motorpoint managing director Mark Carpenter said: "You can't argue with the benefits of a device being used to make it easier for the emergency services to track a vehicle but the results of our poll are definitive - drivers don't want costly Big-Brother style devices attached to their cars that have the potential to track their movements 24/7."

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