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Ariana said:
"Black box insurance works when your car is fitted with a small ‘black box’ device, about the size of a smartphone, which records speed, distance travelled and the time of day or night that you are on the road.

The device also assesses your driving style by monitoring braking and cornering. ....
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Although it is in general good for safety (and fuel economy, and passenger comfort) to avoid hard acceleration and hard braking, I don't like the idea of punishing repeated hard braking with having to pay more for your insurance. One is that there are obviously situations where you have to brake hard (kid/jogger/animal decides to cross the road right ahead of you), another is that brakes need to be used to prevent rust (at least in a cold and wet climate and especially when the roads are frequently salted throughout winter). This is because in most cars, more braking effect is put on the front wheels, which means that when you brake carefully, the rear brakes aren't actually used. Therefore, it is recommended to brake hard from speed every now in a while, to clear any rust and dirt off the rear brake discs. I do that once in every other week or so, if I'm driving at, say, 80 km/h with no traffic close behind. I accelerate a little bit more, then brake hard down to 40-50 km/h before accelerating back to 80.

Also, since the average driver isn't very good at planning far ahead so that the traffic can flow smoothly at all times, it will sometimes be necessary to accelerate (or brake) more than one likes, to make space for others (or fit into a space yourself).

In other words, such a black box will punish reckless drivers ... and many others.
 
To elaborate. It will encourage a passive driving style. That may be a good thing, given that everyone has good situational awareness, reads the traffic well and plans ahead.

But if people who already drive normally (i.e. within speed limits, without hazardous overtaking, etc) start driving slower (so they can reduce the acceleration and braking) traffic flow will suffer.
 
That's the paradox. The roads are so bad you must drive carefully, but nobody does.
But even in the city, where the roads are fine (mostly), it's nuts. I'm usually a calm person but even I often lose my temper with the drivers around me.
 
R.I.P. Georgiy Daneliya.
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Русский is a beautiful language, but also a very confusing one. Writing and reading it in cursive is an exercise of will.
 
Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
in most cars, more braking effect is put on the front wheels, which means that when you brake carefully, the rear brakes aren't actually used.
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I was not aware of this. And all my recent cars have had drum brakes on the rear, meaning that if there's standing water I can't avoid, it will probably go into the drums and stay there ... No wonder I sometimes find my handbrake is locked on the next morning.
 
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