British Car Club to Offer Telematic Trackers

The U.K.'s Royal Automobile Club says it will begin selling "black boxes" to its 2.5 million members that can track the whereabouts, speed and other characteristics of their 4 million vehicles.

The system can be used to capture crash data, aid in stolen car recovery and potentially lower insurance costs. The RAC predicts the technology also will reduce the price of its own breakdown service by providing details about the nature of a crash and the repairs likely to be needed.

The tracking devices will be developed by a joint venture between the RAC and British telematic insurance specialist Ingenie Services Ltd. The RAC will market the monitors under its own brand.

The venture hopes to eventually sell the boxes in North America.