Car Insurance Companies Have Always Been At War With High Prices

A few of the big insurance companies (Progressive, we're looking at you) have been experimenting with high-tech on-board devices to monitor their customer's driving habits for a few years now. But telematics have finally entered the picture, allowing on-the-fly uploading of driver information, vs the previous systems which required drivers to manually upload their data. A majority of drivers who opt-in will save money; about $270 annually per car, according to one think tank. The downside for us hoons is that any braking or speeding deemed "excessive" will increase your payments. Oh, and don't put too many miles on your car, because that'll increase your rates too. So, how do the new systems differ from the old? More »

Big Brother Britain Takes It Up a Notch

Dear old Blighty, why you gotta keep your TV-eye on me? Oh wait, I don't live there. And that's probably for the best, because car blog 4Drivers Only points us to an article in the UK's Independent that outlines exactly how Brits will have their privacy decimated like a stray kidney pie at the Crufts Dog Show. It appears the royal subjects will be subject to a new, national surveillance system that records the movements of all vehicles, all the time. The network of cameras will send pictures of all things driven and velocitous to a central database where the data will be held for at least two years. The lord government, as you'd suspect, made it all. More »