A British lad experienced the surprise of his life upon opening a card on his 21st birthday, revealing that he had been unwittingly caught up in a family prank for the last three years. Sarah Austin took to TikTok to share a now-viral video of her son Charlie’s surprise revelation, eliciting laughter from viewers across the platform.
The amused mum filmed Charlie as he gleefully read out the card from his parents, joyfully exclaiming, “Happy 21st birthday, Charlie,” before being hit with the unexpected news: “Yay – you no longer have a black box.”
Elated at first by what seemed like his new driving freedom, Charlie’s excitement was short-lived as he realised, much to his disbelief, that his car hadn’t been fitted with a ‘black box’ speed monitor for three years. His reaction, filled with shock and expletives, sent waves of laughter rippling through the gathered friends and family. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter
“I’ve had no black box for three years? Are you serious?”, he exclaimed, while the rest revelled in the successful gag. Despite the strong language, which comes with a warning for explicit content when viewing the accompanying TikTok video, the amusement was palpable as Charlie closed off his discovery with a frustrated: “Are you taking the p***? You’re telling me it took six and a half hours to get to Cornwall?” His father cheekily retorted: “It slowed you down though, didn’t it?”, highlighting the effective, if not deceptive, nature of the long-standing joke.
Confronting his guests, Charlie found out that they too were all in on the act. One friend couldn’t contain his mirth as he recalled a recent incident, chuckling: “When you had to slow down the other day, I was crying laughing!”, reports the Mirror.
The video of the revelation has gone viral, amassing an impressive 1.7 million views, despite the fact that Sarah, the poster, has just over 500 followers. TikTok users have been quick to react, with many commending Charlie’s parents for their approach. “Fantastic parenting! 3 years safe driving in the bag,” one user exclaimed. Another concurred: “Three years of driving carefully and avoiding accidents. Three years of experience on the roads. Top parents right there.”
“A black box is another name for a telematics unit that’s fitted to a car to record how it is driven,” explained used car sales company, Cinch. “This data determines how safe a driver you are and is then sent to your insurer, which uses it to decide on your premium.
“The device records a car’s speed, the distance it travels, how it accelerates and brakes, and what time of the day or night the car is used. All this information builds a profile of the driver that the insurance company uses to work out how much of a risk they are to insure. The safer a driver you are, the less you’ll have to pay for your policy. But, on the other hand, if it seems that if you drive erratically or riskily, your premiums can go up.”
