No time travel (yet), but we do have black boxes
THE DeLorean car designed by character ‘Doc’ Brown in Back To The Future could time-travel thanks to a flux capacitor powered by plutonium.
Unfortunately, 30 years later, a time machine gadget for motors has yet to be developed. Driverless cars could be with us in the near future but we already have less high-tech black boxes and spy cameras to lower car insurance by 20 per cent. The black box gadget is the size of a pack of playing cards and fits snuggly
under the dashboard or steering wheel. It uses telematics and a GPS satellite tracking system to monitor where you are going and can even put you under curfew against ‘high-risk’ late night driving. Hard acceleration, sharp braking and speeding are all recorded.
It should curb any boy-racer tendencies and in return lower insurance will be offered from specialists such as the AA, Sheilas’ Wheels, Brightbox, Smart Miles, Wise Driving and Insurethebox.
A teenager paying £2,100 for fully comprehensive insurance could lower this to £1,700 with a black box while over-25s can save a more modest £100.
Another option is a dashcam video camera installed on the dashboard and aimed at the road ahead to record accidents. The insurer Swiftcover says the dashcam can knock 10 per cent off premiums because it can show whose fault it is if there is ever a crash and will help to stop criminals making false whiplash claims. TOMORROW’S WORLD VERDICT: ALREADY a proven way for motorists to cut insurance costs – but cannot time travel you back to the 1980s when premiums were far cheaper.