Black box blues …

There’s another article up about insurance companies wanting to use automobile black boxes in an effort to identify high-risk drivers.

The companies suggest, of course, that in giving up your privacy to a device that monitors your speed and braking patterns, you would make it possible to obtain cheaper rates provided you drive safely.

Unfornately, this device probably won’t lower rates overall, and instead simply be a means for the insurance companies to drop drivers with a higher risk of getting into an accident. That sounds like it should be something the rest of us would be unconcerned with, but remember that those drivers will still be driving, except now they’ll be uninsured, increasing your chances of being hit by someone with no insurance.

Additionally, the devices won’t detect some of the less safe and more annoying driving habits, such as driving below the speed limit, say 25 in a 35 MPH zone, backing up traffic. Nor would it detect people who never use their turn signals, or stop in the right-hand turn lane despite intending to go straight, or any other number of annoying habits.

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