Driver identification and data collection systems for use with mobile communication devices in vehicles

A monitoring device for collecting and transmitting operational data about a vehicle to a separate communication device located within the vehicle, the monitoring device comprising:

• a housing mounted to the vehicle;
• and
• a power supply contained within the housing and adapted to provide power to electronic components contained within the housing, the electronic components including:
• a microprocessor;
• memory in electronic communication with the microprocessor and configured to store the operational data;
• one or more sensors for detecting and determining operational data associated with the vehicle, wherein the microprocessor causes the operational data to be stored in the memory;
• and
• a data transmission module, controlled by the microprocessor and configured to retrieve the operational data from the memory and periodically to transmit the retrieved operational data to the separate communication device using Bluetooth protocols,
• wherein the separate communication device is configured to receive the retrieved operational data, to further process and store the retrieved operational data, and subsequently to upload the processed operational data to a remote server located outside the vehicle.