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F1 black boxes to help learners






Learner drivers will receive printouts of their driving techniques from a Formula One-style black box fitted to cars, under plans being drawn up by BSM, Britain’s largest driving school.
The company wants to raise the driving test pass rate, which has fallen to its lowest ever level. The boxes would record information such as when and how the clutch, brakes and gears are used. The data would be sent via the mobile phone network to a BSM computer and could be printed out to show pupils exactly where they are going wrong.

The idea was inspired by F1, where computers monitor every aspect of a car and its driver’s behaviour. Norwich Union is already pioneering the use of black-box technology with its “smart box” as part of pay-as-you-drive insurance policies for young drivers.