Black boxes in cars to help police discover the causes of accidents are being considered by UK government ministers, the Daily Telegraph reported.
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The paper added they are also thinking of introducing financial incentives for those willing to install devices that keep vehicles within the speed limit.
The paper said the proposals, regarded by ministers as being at an embryonic stage, are based on a report produced by the Motorists’ Forum at the request of Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary.
The Daily Telegraph noted that five years ago, the Government set a target of achieving a 40% cut in road casualties by 2010.
Describing Britain’s roads as among the safest in the world, a spokesman reportedly said the government would be “aggressive” in trying to further reduce fatalities and believes it can build on technology which is already in use. Many cars have computers providing information to garages about how they have been driven.
The paper noted that insurer Norwich Union has offered motorists pay-as-you-drive insurance based on data collected by a black box it installs in the car.
Similar technology is being used on a far wider scale in the United Arab Emirates, which plans to install black boxes in 700,000 official cars, the Telegraph added. These tell the driver when the speed limit is being broken. If a warning is ignored, it tips off the nearest police patrol car by text message and alerts a control centre, which issues a speeding ticket.
But the paper said such a draconian approach is unlikely in the UK, given ministers’ reluctance to antagonise motorists or provoke accusations of ‘Big Brother’ tactics.
The Motorists’ Forum, which called for the introduction of the black boxes, reportedly said real-time monitoring of the data should not be allowed.
Black boxes would be used to help police understand why an accident happened by providing information on how the car was driven in the moments before a collision, the report said.
The spokesman told the paper extensive consultation would be needed before legislation gave police access to these data.
