At Full Chat

Generally, I subscribe to the view that if you're a law-abiding citizen you shouldn't be afraid of CCTV, identity cards and the like. But a company installing a 24/7 spying device in your boot is as unpalatable as someone putting a camera in your loo or a microphone in your bedroom. There are times when being watched, monitored and 'bugged' are quite legitimate. But driving, as with using the toilet or going to bed, is something you should be able to do whenever you like - without someone checking your every move.

If you still take the view that this new in-car technology will work for you because you're an impeccably behaved, low-mileage driver, I urge you to ask several questions before signing on the dotted line. I can think of dozens of reasons why motorists should be suspicious of this new type of cover. What happens, for example, when a company car driver has a prang and the firm discovers, via the little black box, that he or she hadn't taken regular breaks every two hours and had instead driven in a non-stop six-hour stint?

Another scenario might be that an insurer investigating a crash finds the motorist had a long journey home which ended just before midnight, but that the driving started again at 5am the following morning - thereby 'proving' the car's owner had an inadequate period of sleep, which could have contributed to the accident.

What if your cover provider spots your motor is parked overnight not at your home, but somewhere entirely different? Will insurers take a dim view of drivers who have the temerity to travel at busy, comparatively risky times when there are more vehicles to hit and be hit by? And do you really want to grass yourself up by allowing that little black box to record the fact you were doing 85mph on the motorway, even if it was empty?

Is there a chance the police and other interested parties might get an occasional peep at that detailed database as they investigate the movements, speeds and general behaviour of some car users? And company drivers need to be even more concerned. Bosses will know exactly when, where and how fast or slow their employees are driving during working hours. Equally worrying is the fact that they could also have an unprecedented insight into the evening and weekend habits of their staff.

Whether you're a private or company driver, I suspect the black box will allow insurers to build up a sinister profile not only of the sort of motorist you are, but the kind of person you are. And that could have a huge impact on the cost of a policy. I'm sure there are some positive aspects to the spy-in-the-car system. The trouble is, the overwhelming majority of the benefits are surely felt by the insurer, rather than the motorist.