THE Metropolitan Police Force is to test black box equipment in its patrol car fleet following successful trials by forces in Germany. The move, announced at the British International Motor Show has led to renewed calls for black boxes to be fitted to company cars.

About 500 cars have been fitted with the units in Berlin and other German cities, measuring speed, braking, steering input and several other areas of the car's movement. Paul Manning, chairman of the traffic committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: 'It shows all the driver's actions before a collision and has been welcomed by German officers, because when there has been a collision, in many cases they have been able to show they were driving quite properly when it occurred. It has also led to a reduction in driver error and that element of the black box will assist British forces. I think the black box will become especially useful for company car drivers.'

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Brake have called for aeroplane-style black boxes to be fitted to company cars to discourage drivers from clocking up 'ridiculous hours' meeting tight deadlines. But the Association of Car Fleet Operators said there was no justification for fleet drivers to be singled out.