THE Metropolitan Police Force's decision to fit black boxes to its rapid response vehicles will see drivers come under second-by-second scrutiny. The force is investing £250,000 in fitting the technology to 500 of its Rover and Vauxhall cars which are used in emergencies and also those used by the armed response units in an effort to reduce the number of road accidents involving police cars in London each year.

The contract to supply the boxes, which are similar to flight data recorders fitted to airliners, has to go out to tender but senior officers are confident they will be operational in this financial year. The Met, which is the first police force in the country to take this step, is investing in black boxes following successful trials by German police whose accident rates dropped by about 24% after their introduction.