A teenager in Manchester has been left very thankful for having a “black box” telematics unit fitted to his car after it was safely recovered and his insurance reduction was boosted by the thief’s safe driving.

Seventeen year old Alex Cooper was distraught when his prized Vauxhall Corsa went missing from outside his workplace. However, because a telematics unit had been installed with a GPS function, finding the car only took a few hours. The “black box” is designed to reduce insurance costs by analysing driving speed and style, providing a score for each journey and can also pinpoint location on phone app. 

When the car was recovered, it was found that the thief who stole it had unwittingly helped boost the young driver’s safety score by scoring a perfect ten for safe driving. His insurers say he will be allowed to keep the thief’s perfect score on his record, contributing to his overall rewards for the year.

The unit GPS pinpointed that the car was stolen 10.55am and abandoned around four miles away at 11.12am. The careful thief is still being sought by police.