Black box in young drivers cars

Not heard of it BlueBell , is it something compulsory?

My daughter had one when she passed her test 9 years ago. She purchased a car to travel to work and the insurance company she went with offered the black box for her first year of driving. She took it up as it gave her a reduction in the cost.
The insurance company arranged for someone to come to the house to fit the box. Then, they just looked at her driving each month and, if she had driven well, they reduced her payments. At the end of the year they came back to remove it.
It was actually really good. So far as I am aware, they check for speeding, breaking and general driving

My son has just passed his driving test and we looked into whether it was worth getting one or not. As he currently doesn't have a car of his own, we decided just to put him on my DH's insurance which wasn't so expensive. My DH bought a dash cam and told him he would be viewing the footage on a regular basis. However, he hasn't actually got round to fitting it. As he's only just grouted the swimming pool after 11 years, I suspect my DS will have his own car by the time he gets round to fitting it!
If he does get his own car, we will probably go down the black box route just so we can afford the premium. There is also a little comfort to know that he would be monitored so he will have to drive more sensibly or lose the insurance cover.

Oh, my younger granddaughter passed her test last week, she is only 18 and I am worried.

If she shares a car with a friend then it will be of no use ?

You will have to check it out Anniebach each insurance company seems to have slightly different regulations
I personally think it’s a great idea, my grandson is 17 .5 has bought his first car out of his part time earnings but the insurance is horrendous by having a black box it reduces the insurance considerable It has restrictions like not driving after 11 pm and not going over the speed limit etc etc if they stick to the rules for so many months there is a further reduction if they drive poorly it’s put up I personally think if it keeps them on the straight and narrow for the first year it will encourage good habits for the future but I just wondered if anyone had any personal experiences

My son has friends who use them and it doesn't just check speed but how hard they brake, etc. They sound like a really good idea. My son passed his test back in Feb and he had his first 'bump' yesterday when a brick wall didn't move out of the way. We had only just had the conversation about getting over confident. He was in bits when he rang us to tell us as, being plastic, the bumper looked terrible to him. We were just relieved he was ok.

I will speak to her about it, she is sensible but I can't see how it could work with her sharing a car

theres a course they can do after they pass .I think its pass plus and that can bring their insurance down too.My son did it ..was 13 years ago so might not be available now .We also booked him in for a course on skid control which helped our peace of mind

My son has benefitted from reduced insurance premiums by having a black box fitted - he also got a repayment after a few months as his driving was so good. I think they're a very good idea; as someone said up thread, it encourages young drivers to maintain good habits.

I think it’s a good idea, it’s an incentive for the new driver to continue to drive with care and not get over confident. I speak as someone whose had a new car parked by the house totalled by a young driver texting while driving after a row with her boy friend? she had only passed her test by 3 months and was 17! She was unhurt but we were woken by police at the door to say our car had been hit! A black box may or may not have made a difference here but may be she would have decided to have the row over the phone instead of leaving the house at 1am to have it in person? this was 2 weeks ago and very inconvenient as car is used daily to take one of DGC to her school a half hour drive away!

My 2 sons had them fitted at 17 & 18 and it was a great idea . I particularly liked the 11 pm time curfew which gave us a little peace of mind . If be car was moved more than 100 meters an automatic fine if £100 was applied .

How can someone ‘share’ a car? Surely one person is the named driver and the other just added to the insurance. If that is the case then it’s only the named driver whose driving is officially registered to the black box ?

I don’t think so Old Meg because I remember my daughter saying she better be careful if she uses it ever
I think it’s the driving that’s being recorded not the driver per sey

My 2nd DGS had the offer of having one installed when he passed his test 2 years ago but it was not worthwhile as his work shifts means he is travelling home some weeks after 11pm and some weeks as early as 5am depending on his work rota,he is 25 now and he is expecting a reduction in his insurance costs once he is 26.His insurance at the minute is just over 3K a year.

My grandson also does shift work whilst at college so sometimes have a 11 finish and a 5 start but will have to cycle those days as the difference in the price of the insurance is nearly £2000 being over £3000 without and just over £1000 with plus the influence of feeling he has to drive safely to keep the price down

I do know about named driver Old Meg. I.
Does this box differentiate between who is driving , the named driver or the driver added on the insurance

I accept I am being stupid but I know nothing of these boxes and am trying to understand

My nephew aged 18 passed his test a few weeks ago and is going to buy his first car this weekend. My sister says he is having a black box as a condition of being allowed to have his own car.

Being aware of the volume of young motorists that appear in Court on a daily basis, I personally think it’s a great idea.

No it's whoever is driving the car at the time, my brother took his son's car to the garage for an MOT and had to be very careful how e drove as well !!.

Some of the drivers I've seen on the roads, I think everybody needs a Black Box!

My daughter has one. She passed her test last year and having a box meant a reduction in insurance. She has discovered however that it penalises you if you have a lot of stop/start journeys, which can’t be helped if you have to drive through heavy traffic in town even if you are a careful driver. She goes for a longer run when she can at quieter periods to get her average score up!

Oh yes. A very good idea.

As I understand it the Black boxes can't differentiate between drivers.

They should be fitted to all cars permanently along with fitted dash cams.

Yes my son passed last november(just 19) and tesco insurance was cheapest but they do insist you have a black box .they arrange with the driver when to come fit it- ussually within2 wks- and it takes about 30mins to do.yes it records the speeds and i find it gives me peace of mind as a mum to know he wont be tempted to go 'haring off 'to impress his college friends-(hes quite a sensible lad tbf)but also it gives him chance to maybe get a good reduction on next yrs insurance.youve to decide how many miles you might be doing a year though &'buy' extra if you go over that- which isnt discussed in enough detail i dont think- but the least is about 5 or 6 thousand i think so dont worry too much.i think theyre a great idea for young drivers- kinda makes them have a 'second concience'.also my sons satnav is good as the 'car lady' as i jokingly call her is like having mum in the car to nag him even when im not there!lol -as the satnav bleeps/tings when he goes even slightly over limit.(which is only on motorway overtaking usually) the black box people do ring if theres any problems.so it helps to mention if you'l be motorway driving a lot which my son does to go college/visit family/holiday etc.and no it doesnt diffrenciate whos driving- so its attached to car but if its only the young person registered for the car then naturally they assume its the driver/keeper of the vehicle doing the driving.you can add a SECOND driver to policy to help take down price- but must not put them as owner/first driver as thats against the law of course.(maybe a parent/relative who could then be able to also drive or borrow the car officially if/ when they needed to?)