Hey guys,

A while ago I bought a astra 1.6 and being 17 I couldn't exactly find cheap car insurance for it. So I bought a Co-op young drivers policy which means they track your driving (speed, acceleration/braking and time/place of driving) and give you discounts throughout the year if you can prove you're a good driver.


Now I try and stick to the speed limits and as I live in the country I don't drive on big roads often, nor do I drive at night. So I think this should be good for me and I expect I will get a good discount every time they review my driving(every 90 days).


Does anyone have this or similar policy? Is it worth it? Do they tell your next insurance company if you happen to speed sometimes?

Thanks,
Justin

There's something like it here in Denmark, but as i commute by highway everyday I don't really see how it would benefit me anything

From what I've read, they're not allowed to use the data to penalise 'bad' drivers, only reward good drivers with discounts. So your quote won't increase if you speed, but it might not decrease over time as fast as someone who doesn't.

No idea if the police are allowed to seize the data to prove how you were driving if they ever feel the need to.

I have a black box of sorts in my car, a dash cam. The insurance company does not use it, it more for my protection against other drivers.

Having lo-jack in my camaro helps the insurance costs a bit. I would like a camera setup in my wagon but I haven't found one that can be mounted so that it can't be seen from the outside. (or the inside for that matter.) Anyone have pics of their dash cam setup?

Quote from imthebestracerthereis :

I have a black box of sorts in my car, a dash cam. The insurance company does not use it, it more for my protection against other drivers.

Yes I'm getting a dash cam in my car too, just after I got the box installed I went out to see how it monitored my driving and I got cut off by some lady and had to drive onto the sidewalk to avoid hitting her car!

Would be nice to have a recording of stuff like that so I can report idiots like that.

Quote from flymike91 :

I haven't found one that can be mounted so that it can't be seen from the outside

There are literally hundreds of dash cams to choose from. Check out dashcamtalk.com for some of the more popular reviewed ones. Techmoan [web / YT] does A LOT of dash cam reviews, too.

Quote from flymike91 :

Having lo-jack in my camaro helps the insurance costs a bit. I would like a camera setup in my wagon but I haven't found one that can be mounted so that it can't be seen from the outside. (or the inside for that matter.) Anyone have pics of their dash cam setup?

Front:



Rear



Up close you can see it but from any distance it's hard to pick out (just to the right of the rear view mirror)

Hey Jack you got your dream car, nice Now just to paint it up eh :P

I've been tempted to get a dash cam. I know everyone makes mistakes and part of being a good driver is avoiding other peoples mistakes. And I realise that I make them too.

It's just the ratio of what I avoid versus what I cause hardly seems fair.

Thanks for posting those, it isn't quite as obtrusive as I thought.

Good links Dustin

What I use.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ITRONI ... tem4170163057&vxp=mtr
Has built in GPS that shows where you were on playback and records the g-forces.

What camera is it Jack?

It's the 007 version of this http://dashcamtalk.com/dvr-027-720p/

Quote from Mysho :

What camera is it Jack?

I believe I have the same one as he does. It just a generic HD DVR camera, with no brand name specified. I got mine from DealExtreme [link] probably a year or so ago, when it was around $100 USD. There are imitations that look EXACTLY alike (same outer shell), make sure to look at the customer reviews and get the one with black text on white background

Black text | Green text

I use BlackVue HD2 in my GT86. Literally invisible behind the rearview mirror and great quality video and gps/g-meter.

Quote from imthebestracerthereis :

I believe I have the same one as he does. It just a generic HD DVR camera, with no brand name specified. I got mine from DealExtreme [link] probably a year or so ago, when it was around $100 USD. There are imitations that look EXACTLY alike (same outer shell), make sure to look at the customer reviews and get the one with black text on white background

Black text | Green text

Yup - I think it's that.

I got mine from DealExtreme. I saw a video on YouTube which was awesome quality so I went on eBay and bought one but bought a "knockoff" VGA version instead that looked identical - but was rubbish. DealExtreme sell the legit version - think it set me back around £40 + £5 for a decent mount (make the quality much better IMO) + £18 ish for a 32GB SDHC card.

EDIT - Quick example of quality - http://youtu.be/6hMkZViqUuo - the Date Stamp on the video's style is the biggest giveaway to the type of dashcam IMO.

Do you happen to find some videos in your car with a lot of sun involved? Like summer or something. I quite like this camera and I think I'll just buy it because I got rammed from BMW scammer who wants to make it look like my fault. I start feeling like I live in Russia.

Quote from Mysho :

Do you happen to find some videos in your car with a lot of sun involved?

Sorry dude, I live in England

Quote from Jakg :

Sorry dude, I live in England

Nevermind. I'll just get it.

Just seen this - http://youtu.be/P-dfvPX0dOs

Looks very VERY good - about £65 ish on eBay

Tempted to buy one to upgrade mine but I don't really *need* it...

EDIT - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013 ... s&hash=item4ac1effcb0 - £65 / $98. Tempted, just a shame it uses MicroSD...

I have a black shoe box in my car

Quote from Scrabby :

I have a black shoe box in my car

Close enough eh?!


Well it turns out them black boxes aren't that sensitive. Drove the car into a field (didn't see the junction as my window was covered with snow from huge snow drift) and the braking rating for that night was still a 4/5 !!!


If anyone is wondering I went back the next day and fixed the fence/ bushes I drove through (and pulled my beast out with a xc90). Not one car drove down that road since I left it there(only one set of tyre tracks through the snow drift) so I got lucky as I didn't need to pay anyone(just a few broken tow ropes)

Quote from Jakg :

Yup - I think it's that.

I got mine from DealExtreme. I saw a video on YouTube which was awesome quality so I went on eBay and bought one but bought a "knockoff" VGA version instead that looked identical - but was rubbish. DealExtreme sell the legit version - think it set me back around £40 + £5 for a decent mount (make the quality much better IMO) + £18 ish for a 32GB SDHC card.

EDIT - Quick example of quality - http://youtu.be/6hMkZViqUuo - the Date Stamp on the video's style is the biggest giveaway to the type of dashcam IMO.

Huh, when you said "he ran a red light, what the ****?" It sounded identical to what I sound like on video. We get that happen a lot round here though. A lot of traffic lights are badly setup so they either cause traffic jams or in terms of ped crossing remain red for 30 seconds after the little man has turned red. A lot of people get fed up after 5 seconds and boot it through. Also get a lot of red light runners on blind junctions. They seem to go by the old country adage of "cops never patrol round here."

I recently got this one http://www.szswill.com/car-cam ... ashboard-camera-d230.html
There are so many liars out there now where it comes to driving. Just one accident that isnt forced to go 50/50 because some liar decides that he doesnt want to payfor an accident that they caused (With no witness or even a witness that magically appears on their behalf) will be well worth it. And especially with all the insurance scams going around lately with people intentionally causing accidents (Such as overtaking then immediately slamming on the brakes) rear diver would be considered at fault without any witnesses or evidence and another scumbag would get away with it..

For a time I set up a recorder using my mobile phone, following the wife's battle with a 'story changer'
I used the free version of DailyRoads Voyager on Android, used to fit the phone to the passenger headrest so it wasn't obvious and had a decent field of view. It records your speed as well.

Can't use the phone's sat-nav or music streaming when strapped to the headrest though.