The Black Box Phenomenon

I saw a car the other day, in front of me in the petrol station. It had a notice in the back window, so large it was a wonder the driver could see. It said 'sorry I am driving within the limit I have a black box fitted'. The driver and the young lady with him appeared to be in their late teens, although I am not known necessarily, for my age guessing techniques, I do meet a lot of teens during the week, so consider myself to be accurate-ish.

I wondered why it would be acceptable for apologising for not breaking the law. You don't often walk in to a shop and see someone with a sign on their back saying 'sorry I am not shoplifting today I am being watched'.

Breaking the speed limit has become socially acceptable, and even with pedestrians, drivers and vulnerable road users becoming casualties everyday, it is still thought to be okay. Why would that be? The reason I hear the most is the common misconception that because cars are safer and can (theoretically) stop quicker, the speed limits should be higher. How could that little nugget of information have become accepted amongst drivers so readily? After all if that was so we would have no accidents surely? Or could it be the group of people who can't afford a techy car with modern technology. Let me see, could that be the new driver, the driver most likely, statistically to crash? When you put the inexperienced driver into experienced situations and shared space, the result surely has to be painful when it goes wrong. It's easy to blame the young driver, but the ones making excuses for their speed are the older, experienced, complacent driver, because it's easier to blame the young person. Although young drivers frequently crash in a situation where another vehicle is not involved, we all learn by example, and not one of us is better than the next person, we store information from learned behaviour whether we choose to or not. Breaking the chain is harder than going with the flow, and to be fair what is the incentive. A driver who only sees chaos in their mirror has no need to believe they are in the wrong.

So maybe black box technology, which I have to say I don't support, and I will explain why shortly, should be encouraged by insurance companies. However the uptake would be poor. After all the experienced drivers are not doing it wrong. If they were, we would see more people keen to have further driver education, instead of the sulkers in the speed awareness class, acting like naughty children who got caught, on their roads and now having an infringement on their liberty.

Compulsory black boxes would be a bit like VAT, you have to have it, the premium is added in to everything, and as time goes by on the low rate teaser it then gets higher until you wonder exactly what you are getting for your money, but you are now bound in law and don't have a get out clause.

I seriously have no time for enforced control, because average speed cameras do a better job, you have to take responsibility for your action and watch your speed more closely, with a black box, speed limiter, you can just pay up more later and have no other price to pay. It's also a bit cheeky, have you ever met a poor insurance broker? Why is that then? So why would I want to get poorer while they get richer.

We also then have to investigate learning techniques. Based on a book written in the 1950's no doubt stumbled upon by a degree student, I know this because I stumbled across it the same way while studying for my BSc (hons) Psychology, the decision to move into coaching was made. Would someone please tell me where the coaching is in black box. You see black box technology supports rote, and although I believe rote has a place, and Socrates does agree with me and he was the first coach, learning would come from repetitive behaviour, not exploration of what we do and responsibility. Is that not a backward step or is rote the way forward with driving? The supporters of the black box, and I can name a few fairly quickly, are also the same people who have jumped on the coaching bandwagon to make their living. Probably because actually being out their teaching the drivers of the future wasn't going so well. Understandably. Why not take a more lucrative market.

So sadly the drivers of tomorrow do not have the help they need, because insurance is their concern, not their life. Will black box save lives? Statistically there is no evidence, and as a researcher I like hard figures to work with. Do I want my children to have a black box, no, absolutely not. Until someone can prove to me it's not an intravenous line into the brokers bank. You see I'm sure if it was a case of  a years free insurance if you don't break the rules was in place, they'd be withdrawn.

As a supporter of road safety, education is the key. Not gimmicks. Not money orientated schemes.

Teach the drivers of the future, by whatever method suits them, not us, teach the drivers of the now, not with insurance premium carrots but licence rights.