Your Driver Score and Alerts
The following applies to policies purchased before 26/03/25. If you bought a new policy after 04/06/25, please refer to your app for more information.
What is a Driver Score?
Your Driver Score is a measure of safe driving. More specifically, it’s how we measure how safely you are driving. Going forward, we may offer you a discount if we believe you to be a safe driver. Safer drivers mean a lower insurable risk for us.
Your Driver Score is rated on five key factors on a scale of 1 to 100: the higher the score, the safer a driver we perceive you to be. Your Driver Score will be updated every 7 days, providing you have driven 200 miles since your last score calculation.
Don’t forget, the black box builds a picture of how your car is driven, not who drives it. So, the Driver Score will take into account the driving of anyone who gets behind the wheel of your car.
How can I review my Driver Score?
You can review your Driver Score and journey details using the RAC Black Box App. The App is available for Apple and Google Android smartphones.
How do you calculate my Driver Score?
Your Driver Score is calculated on five key factors, the most important of which are the following:
Braking
If you brake harshly, it can indicate several things about the way you were driving. For example, harsh braking could indicate that you may have been travelling too closely to the car in front to react safely to changing traffic conditions.
See our article on stopping distances for more information.
Acceleration
Quick acceleration can also indicate how much of a risk you represent on the road. By accelerating gently and using the gears efficiently, you reduce the risk of losing control of your car.
See our article on driving a car with manual gears for more information.
Speeding
Travelling at unsafe speeds is another key factor in calculating your Driver Score. Whether you’re an experienced motorist or not, you’ll know what a speed limit is. Make sure you travel no faster than the speed limit for the road you are on, and according to the conditions of the road at the time.
Speeding will have a negative effect on your Driver Score and if you continue to do it, we have the right to cancel your policy. After all, your black box policy is about driving safely and sensibly.
If you are caught speeding by a camera or a traffic enforcement officer, the penalties can be severe. See our article on speeding fines for good reasons not to be tempted to speed.
Your Driver Score is primarily weighted towards the above factors as they are the major indicators of risk. That said, the following are also taken into account when calculating your score:
- Time of Day – there is no curfew however there is an adjustment to your score if you frequently drive at night when you’re likely to be more tired and it’s dark.
- Urban or Rural roads – this factor just looks at the roads you drive on frequently, lower speed limit urban areas are higher risk, hence the reason the speed limit has been lowered.
What if I get a low Driver Score?
RAC Black Box Car Insurance is about encouraging you to drive safely, so if your Driver Score falls below an acceptable level, we’ll let you know and you’ll have the chance to improve your score.
What are Red Alerts and Black Events?
There are two types of notification, as detailed below.
Red Alerts
If your Driver Score falls below our acceptable limit we’ll let you know by sending you an email. This would mean you’d need to make changes to the way you drive in order to improve your score. You can log in to the Driver app or portal for advice and tips on how to do this. However if you don’t manage to improve and your Driver Score continues below an acceptable level, you’ll receive another Red Alert from us.
If you get three Red Alerts it means we consider you to be an unsafe driver, your policy may be cancelled by us sending you 7 days notice by letter or email. During this notice period you will need to find an alternative insurance provider. If we have to cancel your policy this could affect your ability to get insurance in the future.
Driver Score | Driver Category |
Below 20 | Red Driver |
Between 20 and 40 | Risk of Red Driver |
Between 41 and 90 | Amber Driver |
Over 90 | Green Driver |
Black Events
If your black box tells us you’ve driven with excessive speed, a Black Event will be triggered, and your policy may be cancelled by us sending you 7 days notice by letter or email. During this notice period you will need to find an alternative insurance provider. If we have to cancel your policy this could affect your ability to get insurance in the future.
Speed Limit | Speed Alleged |
20mph | In excess of 40mph |
30mph | In excess of 51mph |
40mph | In excess of 66mph |
50mph | In excess of 75mph |
60mph | In excess of 85mph |
70mph | In excess of 100mph |