You may have heard of a ‘telematics device’ or ‘black box’ before, but have you ever wondered what one actually is? If you’re not sure what a telematics device is or what it does, we’re here to explain.
What is a ‘telematics device’?
Telematics devices come in one of two forms: either as a black box or a mobile app device. The black box is fitted into your car in an out of sight location by a professional engineer, and collects data using GPS and other smart technologies to determine how safely you’re driving.
Mobile app policies are monitored using an app you’ll download to your phone. Some policies may use an app alone to track your driving, but at WiseDriving we’ll send you a small device that fits into the cigarette lighter of your car. This device then connects to our WiseDriving app on your phone to monitor your driving. You can install this device yourself, saving you money on installation fees.
What do they do?
Each of these devices collect data about four key aspects of your driving to determine how safely you drive. These are:
- How quickly you accelerate
- The sharpness of your braking
- Your top speed
- The time of day that you’re driving
It calculates how you perform in each of these behaviours to give a Driving Behaviour Score. The higher your score is the better driver you are! If your score increases, you could receive money back from your insurance. However, if your driving score decreases, you may have to pay more. We can also use your score for each of these behaviours to provide hints and tips on how to improve your driving and save money.
So that’s what a telematics device is: could having one in your car save you money?
