The new infograph published by SafeCar.Info. offers some good insights into the real cost of owning a vehicle. To put it simply, owning a car these days is not easy on any wallet. the infograph provides a clear guide to the issues which everyone should consider before they make their final decision.
Source: SafeCar.info. Click Image to learn more.
Via: Safecar.info | Car safety & Insurance Magazine
(Source: car-insurance.com via Autoblog)
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(Source: Wired)
Image Courtesy: Wired
A company that provides communications systems to law enforcement agencies around the world has developed a black box similar to those used in aircraft to record crash data in cars.
The Smart Black Box by KCI Communications sticks to your windshield and uses a built-in camera, GPS unit and G-force shock sensor to document accidents. The info could come in handy when trying to determine fault or explain to your insurance company just what happened when you crunched your car. KCI says the GPS unit will record the time and location of an accident and document your speed and direction of travel. The company says that could be useful when trying to prove that red light you ran was actually yellow or in cases where you dispute the reading on a cop’s radar.
The Smart Black Box costs about $300 and constantly records video footage on a loop as you drive. Should the shock sensor detect an accident, the device saves the 15 seconds prior to impact and the 5 seconds afterward. The footage is saved to a SD Card, like that found in your digital camera, making it accessible on a home computer.
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New Database Tells Big Brother You’re Uninsured
At least 16 percent of motorists tool around without insurance, and a Michigan company says it has developed technology that allows police to easily identify and cite them.
InsureNet’s database would compile names, license plate numbers and other information about motorists and provide it to some 35,000 law agencies through a nationwide network linking local, state and federal law enforcement. Cops and traffic cameras could use the information to instantly identify uninsured motorists. InsureNet claims the system could save the insurance industry billions of dollars in fraud and generate hundreds of millions in ticket revenue. It says Chicago and Mississippi are among those that may adopt the technology.
“Until now states have had very little opportunity to determine what vehicles on the road are insured,” Rowland Day, the company’s executive VP, told Wired.com. “We have developed a system that has the ability to be effective on a national level and therefore beneficial to every state.”
All states require automobile insurance of some kind, but uninsured motorists generally aren’t caught unless they’re stopped for another offense. InsureNet would make it easier to identify them and create another use for the traffic and surveillance cameras blanketing many cities. Civil libertarians warn such a system threatens our privacy and brings us closer to a surveillance state akin to England, where there’s a camera on nearly every corner.
The Insurance Status System compiles information provided by insurance companies and makes it available to police through the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System. The secure network, launched in 1961 and based in Arizona, links law enforcement agencies nationwide, allowing them to instantly share information.
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(Source: Gizmodo)
It wouldn’t matter if you ran the light or were driving conscientiously. The proposed system would exploit both existing stoplight cameras and general security cameras to scan your plate and hand it over to the InsureNet database. If InsureNet discovered that you were lacking insurance, you’d receive a $300-$500 ticket in the mail.
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(Source: NHTSA)
The website states ” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has provided the information in this booklet in compliance with Federal law as an aid to consumers considering the purchase of new vehicles. The booklet compares differences in insurance costs for different makes and models of passenger cars, utility vehicles, light trucks, and vans on the basis of damage susceptibility for the vehicle. However, it does not indicate a vehicle’s relative safety for occupants. ”
Click here to print or download a PDF. Shown below is the PDF version for viewing:
