Black boxes.. the catch?

Mercdriver

Dr_Crypto said:

What about a convent of nuns carrying baskets of kittens or even litters of kittens carrying baskets of nuns?

Almost unheard of.  I believe only Rodgers and Hammerstein would have covered it, but they didn't come across the TS Eliot poems.  Now they are at the mercy of Lloydd Webber

Grumpy_chap

Now that I think of it, I did see some nuns around when the Middlesex Sevens were on, but probably not that remarkable on such a day.

cymruchris

I can imagine how distracting nuns could be.

I'm also glad that I never had to have one. If I can help it - I'll never ever get one either.

I can see the idea though - help keep younger drivers within tolerable driving conditions. There was a time in the dim and distant past when I owned a Nissan 300ZX twin turbo - and for one night only - if that box had been fitted when I travelled along the M4 at 2am - it would have given some crazy data that no doubt would have seen my insurance quadruple overnight. I wouldn't do it again though. Had I had a box - I wouldn't have done it  

Jack_Cork

cymruchris said:

I can imagine how distracting nuns could be.

I'm also glad that I never had to have one. If I can help it - I'll never ever get one either.

What a nun?

MidlandsGlory

cymruchris said:

I can imagine how distracting nuns could be.

I'm also glad that I never had to have one. If I can help it - I'll never ever get one either.

I can see the idea though - help keep younger drivers within tolerable driving conditions. There was a time in the dim and distant past when I owned a Nissan 300ZX twin turbo - and for one night only - if that box had been fitted when I travelled along the M4 at 2am - it would have given some crazy data that no doubt would have seen my insurance quadruple overnight. I wouldn't do it again though. Had I had a box - I wouldn't have done it  

As an engineer, I could tell him we arranged a Black box policy even if we don't. Plenty of spare electronics modules knocking around and a couple of wires, a flashing LED, job done.
I do use the 'take no prisoners' parenting model.

Scrapit

MidlandsGlory said:

cymruchris said:

I can imagine how distracting nuns could be.

I'm also glad that I never had to have one. If I can help it - I'll never ever get one either.

I can see the idea though - help keep younger drivers within tolerable driving conditions. There was a time in the dim and distant past when I owned a Nissan 300ZX twin turbo - and for one night only - if that box had been fitted when I travelled along the M4 at 2am - it would have given some crazy data that no doubt would have seen my insurance quadruple overnight. I wouldn't do it again though. Had I had a box - I wouldn't have done it  

As an engineer, I could tell him we arranged a Black box policy even if we don't. Plenty of spare electronics modules knocking around and a couple of wires, a flashing LED, job done.
I do use the 'take no prisoners' parenting model.

Or you could treat your offspring like an adult.

theoretica

Scrapit said:

MidlandsGlory said:

cymruchris said:

I can imagine how distracting nuns could be.

I'm also glad that I never had to have one. If I can help it - I'll never ever get one either.

I can see the idea though - help keep younger drivers within tolerable driving conditions. There was a time in the dim and distant past when I owned a Nissan 300ZX twin turbo - and for one night only - if that box had been fitted when I travelled along the M4 at 2am - it would have given some crazy data that no doubt would have seen my insurance quadruple overnight. I wouldn't do it again though. Had I had a box - I wouldn't have done it  

As an engineer, I could tell him we arranged a Black box policy even if we don't. Plenty of spare electronics modules knocking around and a couple of wires, a flashing LED, job done.
I do use the 'take no prisoners' parenting model.

Or you could treat your offspring like an adult.

And have them arrange and pay for their own insurance...

oscarward

my son had a black box insurer for his second  driving year. very restrictive which wasn't a problem as he worked normal hours and never went out.  It may have been a problem for me as I was a named driver and sometimes was out late visiting people. just had to use my car.  A thought if there is only one shared car or working shifts.

The side effect was that I could download the reports and see what his driving was like.  He has always been a very couteous and careful driver for which I thank his instructor.

treeroy

MidlandsGlory said:

My son will hopefully get a test sooner or later and will move from cheap learner insurance to an expensive full policy.
On the face of it, Black box policies sound good claiming a big discount on the next renewal if the driving was acceptable.
But as far as I can see, the box data isn't universal, its specific to the insurer that provides the box. So indeed they could offer a renewal with a discount, but off a hugely jacked up quote in the first place. My experience of my own insurance is they always try to ramp it up on renewal so I shop around and switch every year to keep the price the same.
So the whole exercise could be pointless as you would not be free to shop around for potentially a way better deal on the basis of a 1st years NCB. Again, my own experience at renewal times is there is always some insurer looking to boost their figures and offering a really good deal at the time. 
So my instinct is simply to look for the best deal box or no box regardless, or am I missing something?

There is no catch. Yes some insurers may give you a better premium in a second year if you've used a black box for one year.

But the second year quotes will be cheaper anyway because he's been driving for a year.

Next year you can shop around again and if a different black box policy is better then you can go for that.

Black box policies are good, just make sure you don't use one with curfews. My first car was an MX-5 and only way I could insure it was with a black box. I ragged it everywhere, drove 120+ mph all the time, never had any issues. The online account would tell me "You drive at a higher speed than most drivers. If you slow down, you have less of a chance to have an accident." that's it, it really didn't matter how you drive.

MidlandsGlory

Scrapit said:

MidlandsGlory said:

cymruchris said:

I can imagine how distracting nuns could be.

I'm also glad that I never had to have one. If I can help it - I'll never ever get one either.

I can see the idea though - help keep younger drivers within tolerable driving conditions. There was a time in the dim and distant past when I owned a Nissan 300ZX twin turbo - and for one night only - if that box had been fitted when I travelled along the M4 at 2am - it would have given some crazy data that no doubt would have seen my insurance quadruple overnight. I wouldn't do it again though. Had I had a box - I wouldn't have done it  

As an engineer, I could tell him we arranged a Black box policy even if we don't. Plenty of spare electronics modules knocking around and a couple of wires, a flashing LED, job done.
I do use the 'take no prisoners' parenting model.

Or you could treat your offspring like an adult.

Warning! Warning! sense of humour bypass... unable to tell reality from tongue in cheek.. warning! Warning!