The details differ from company to company, but they all rely on modern on-board diagnostic systems. Progressive's original "TripSense" is plugged into you car's diagnostic port, every six months being removed to have the info uploaded and sent to the company. The new system, called "MyRate," uses a telematic device that wirelessly transmits the driver data over a cellphone network.

GMAC's program utilizes a car's existing OnStar system...which just happens to have GPS capabilites. They insist that GPS tracking is not used to monitor your every move — just your mileage. You know, because checking the odometer just isn't good enough. GMAC does admit "There is an opportunity to get other information, and as we do we will be able to correlate risk to actual driving behavior itself rather than more predictive factors." Of course, you'd still have to pay for the annual OnStar subscription, so you'll have to judge whether the insurance savings makes the OnStar spam you'll get each month worthwhile.
[WSJ]

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.

Every Get The Feelin' You Was Bein' Watched? [4Drivers Only]

Related:
Top Traffic Cop Wants Broad Surveillance Network in the UK [internal]