This policy paper explores the rapidly developing use of in-vehicle telematics to monitor and analyse real-life driving behaviour, and its potential road safety advantages and disadvantages. The paper primarily focuses on this technology by two groups: motor insurers and the (young) drivers they insure employers and their staff who drive for work. On 21 December 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ)'s gender ruling1 (commonly called the Gender Directive) came into effect, making it illegal for insurers to take gender into account when calculating premiums. Previously, gender was a major factor in determining a driver’s, especially a young driver’s, level of premium, with female drivers generally receiving substantially lower premiums than males because male drivers crash more often than females, and so make more motor insurance claims. This is one of the major reasons from the growth of telematics-based motor insurance. Potentially, this technology provides a powerful tool to improve driving standards and reduce crash rates, by: helping drivers to recognise their „real? driving styles and how particular types of driving (for example, exceeding speed limits, hard acceleration, etc.) increase the risk of crashing, as well as cost more in fuel use and vehicle wear and tear incentivising drivers to avoid these types of driving behaviour, and so reduce their risk helping those in a position to influence drivers (parents, trainers, employers, insurers, etc.) to identify riskier drivers and their training needs or other ways of reducing their risk (an employer changing journey schedules, for example). However, in-vehicle telematics also raises privacy issues and the risk that the data will be mis-interpreted, leading to inappropriate responses. The use of telematics (black boxes) to monitor real-life driving behaviour, and to incentivise better, safer driving, is increasing rapidly, mainly with two groups of drivers: young drivers and at-work drivers. (Author/publisher)
Abstract