Hi all,

 

There's a cocky little 17 year old down the road wizzing around the place in a car that has a knackered exhaust - you know, the usual stuff, you can hear it coming 10 miles away, backfires as he's decelerating and throwing it into the corners etc. etc. Apparently he's working and saving up to get it fixed (didn't realise how loud it was when he bought it .... yeah, right, that old chestnut!). I flagged him down the other day to talk to him about the speed that he's driving the car at. He was a bit snidey and when I said about the engine noise indicating to me that he's breaking the law, he said he's got a black box fitted so can't break the speed limit. There was something off about the way he said it, almost like he'd got one over on me! Drawing on 40 years of driving experience I've got a sneaky suspicion that him or maybe one of his car mechanic mates has hacked the box so it can be switched into some kind of standby mode which reports back that the car is parked up outside his parents house, or it is jaming the speed reporting.

 

Back in the mid eighties when I took my driving test (before the touchscreen theory test), the examiner asked me how I would be able to tell how fast I was going without looking at the speedometer. The answer: The car revs and the sound. It comes with experience, and my experience is telling me that something is very off about all this.

 

I don't want to know the how to bit, but in theory does anyone on here think my suspicions might be right? A 17 year olds brain is still developing, so risk and consequences are probably not even rattling around in there. If he kills himself that would be a tragedy, if he killed (or maimed) someone else, it would be manslaughter. Any advice please?

Just because he said he has a Black Box fitted does not mean he actually does.

 

Just have a word with the Community Police Officer.  That is why they are there, if they are there or there about and not selectively deaf, dumb or blind or absent when needed. 

1 hour ago, barnsleyboy said:

Any advice please?

 

On what? The only question you have asked is do people agree with your suspicions.

10 minutes ago, Rooted said:

Just because he said he has a Black Box fitted does not mean he actually does.

 

Just have a word with the Community Police Officer.  That is why they are there, if they are there or there about and not selectively deaf, dumb or blind or absent when needed. 

Agrred, probably not insured either. 

I was assuming maybe wrongly that @barnsleyboy being a nosy neighbour and a road captain like me, would have already been on Ask MID to see the car is insured if not the driver and looked at the MOT status. 

52 minutes ago, J.R. said:

 

On what? The only question you have asked is do people agree with your suspicions.

Ok, re-reading it, the question I should have asked is "can a black box be hacked in the manner that I mentioned?"

Didn't want to come all out with the question!

^^^ What does the rest of the tinternet / Social Media say about Hacked Black Boxes and people voiding there possibly cheaper insurance?

 

If they can be hacked and are being hacked then surely that needs clamped down on.   I just read how pretty hopeless they can be. 

When both of my sons got their own cars, I recommended that they stay away from black box policies. I'm a bit of a stickler for privacy and the erosion of civil liberties. Don't get me started on Ring doorbells and being constantly monitored through your mobile phone!

I suspect that if you hack a black box it's would be insurance fraud and therefore invalidate the policy.
The insurance comapny would want the box in the event of an accident and be able to tell if it's been tampered with. 
More likely the lad's telling you porkies about having a black box. Ask to see it next time.

1 hour ago, barnsleyboy said:

When both of my sons got their own cars, I recommended that they stay away from black box policies. I'm a bit of a stickler for privacy and the erosion of civil liberties. Don't get me started on Ring doorbells and being constantly monitored through your mobile phone!

At my ripe old age - late 70s - I think life’s too short to worry…

Perhaps he thought the black box was the name of his exhaust system🤣