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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

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Original poster

has anyone else got their teenager on the family car insurance and has a black box fitted?

16 replies

ssd · 24/08/2016 17:20

we only have one car and now ds has passed his test we put him on the insurance to see how it goes....we have to get a black box fitted to keep the costs down a bit.....but its the family car so we'll all be affected...me, dh and ds....

has anyone any experience of this?

pitfalls/things to look out for/things to avoid?

OP posts:

ItsJustPaint · 24/08/2016 17:31

Yes Ive just done this too.

The only things I've noted are : short journeys of less than a mile are a no no ( apparently the insurance company considers small journeys a risk if you can walk it's an unnecessary risk )
you need to keep to the speed limits ( obviously )
You need to keep an eye on the mileage as its a term of the agreement I signed up to to do x amount of miles ( can buy more if necessary )

DD is at university in October so won't be taking my car and won't be driving it until Christmas possibly - so I find it all a bit laughable that I'm the one who is having my driving skills examined ! The insurance company know all this as I suggested it was a bit of a farce. !

So far the online tracker suggests all is well so I'm just going with it.

Dh drives it rarely and feels like he is under exam conditions when he does.

Do you have any particular worries ?

cathyandclare · 24/08/2016 17:37

DD's car had one of these, in the end she wouldn't let me drive it because I spoiled her stats with my dodgy driving!!!
I believe a bit of sensible motorway driving with stops at least every two hours improves your record.

Original poster

ssd · 24/08/2016 17:52

oh god, because of work I do short journeys of less than a mile regularly and I didnt know you were restricted with mileage?

as its the family car, I dont know how this will work, am worried now....

OP posts:

Lancelottie · 24/08/2016 17:58

Backing it off the driveway and then leaving it there is particularly bad for your stats!

On the whole, though, I think it's great. I get to track DS online and see whether he's reached wherever he planned to go (on the downside, he can do that to me, too...)

Nevaehsmum · 24/08/2016 19:22

My son had one to start with. After a few months we scraped it! It made it impossible to do his job properly as he was an estate agent so needed to be driving short journeys and also long journeys with no stops. Driving after a certain time and before a certain time, Eg before 7am and after 10pm, effected stats too!

I wouldn't do it again never!! Especially not on a family car, not worth it at all just so save a bit of money!

BackforGood · 24/08/2016 19:36

We just added dd without any boxes being involved - we couldn't restrict all our driving by having one fitted. I think the fact I used the car for 'business use' and clearly it is genuinely my car and she is actually an 'occasional driver' and we're not fronting for her, has probably helped. I was quite impressed by how little we had to pay extra probably because I'm so old.

ItsJustPaint · 24/08/2016 20:21

Why don't you phone the company you are thinking of going with and ask them?

From my experience they all had slightly different criteria. We've not got any curfews for example - you might not either...

ItsJustPaint · 24/08/2016 20:23

I'm not sure how it works anyway as you could just shop around next year for a quote with a totally different company

It's all a game

WhimsicalWinnifred · 24/08/2016 21:04

Neighbour has one for their teenage son. Apparently it's been fine buy he has sped twice and been notified by email each time with the note that next time something serious will happen.

From what I know of other telematics, 'harsh events' such as braking and accelerating will affect it.

cloudyday99 · 24/08/2016 21:11

We have one since DSD started driving my car. It knocked about £100 off the insurance, and when I came to renew it went down again :) It's also good for keeping track of where your kids are, and how they're driving as you can log in online and see a map with where your car is, and see the driving stats for each journey.

Wigglewogglewoo · 24/08/2016 21:17

It's also good for keeping track of where your kids are

If my "kids" are older enough to drive they're too old for me to be keeping track of where they are!

alltouchedout · 24/08/2016 21:28

I always assumed these just checked you weren't speeding or... well idk what else I thought they measured but I never imagined that short journeys would be seen as a negative in terms of driving safety. How odd!

HormonalHeap · 24/08/2016 22:59

Dd has one- hates it. When she drives well though they send her a cash gift to her card though. Always stops her complaining!

bigbluebus · 25/08/2016 11:20

We got quotes for insurance with a black box but in the end went with Churchill who were just as cheap without the box.

Original poster

ssd · 26/08/2016 08:01

thanks everyone!

thats interesting bigbluebus, we are with churchill and I thought it would be cheaper....

OP posts:

fairywoods · 26/08/2016 09:59

My DS has a black box and I share his car too. We think it's great, there's no penalty for short journeys. It is actually a good way to focus on driving well. His insurer rewards on a "drive better, get money back" basis, so it's positive reinforcement. Great too as I can keep an eye on how my DS is driving! We're with a well known supermarket.

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