Did you know that the distance driven by the average person in his or her lifetime is equal to circumnavigating the globe 13.3 times?
This and other interesting findings were disclosed in Discovery Insure’s latest Drive Trends Report. Released on 30 November, the report analysed the driving behaviour of more than 240 000 drivers on Discovery Insure’s Vitality Drive programme. Utilising telematics, Vitality Drive clients earn points based on how well they drive.
Data gathered between January and October 2023 shows that drivers are taking 55 trips a month – that’s 15 fewer trips than before Covid-19 – and five less work trips a month compared to one year ago. On average, people are driving 15 days a month – the most on Fridays and the least on Sundays – and the average distance travelled per trip is 12km.
So, what does it all mean and why should we care?
According to Discovery, information such as this – and the Vitality Drive programme – helps to shift driving behaviour for the better.
For instance, the Drive Trends Report shows that on weekdays, the peak driving time for the morning is 6:45, indicating that most people start work, in-office, between 7:00 and 8:00.
Robert Attwell, the chief executive of Discovery Insure, notes that, using Discovery’s data, South Africans can optimise their workday estimated time of arrival (ETAs) by changing their departure time.
Instead of starting a trip between 7:00 and 8:00, drivers can spend 14% less time on the road by leaving the house between 6:00 and 7:00, and 11% if they leave after 8:00.
“We all know that every minute stuck in traffic counts, especially during load-shedding and with the price of fuel,” says Attwell.
The need for speed
The data also reveals interesting findings into driving behaviour in different provinces and speeding behaviour – showing an increase in speeding incidents, particularly on weekends.
Vitality Drive clients start each day with 60 points, and, using the principle of loss aversion, Discovery Insure deducts points throughout the day for poor driving behaviours, such harsh braking and cornering, using a cellphone while driving, and speeding.
Of these driving behaviours, the Drive Trends Report reveals that speeding is the worst driving behaviour among clients, as drivers lose most of their points for driving too fast compared to other poor driving behaviours. Drivers who claim lose as much as 83% more points from speeding than those who don’t claim.
The data also showed that people speed 50% more on weekends compared to weekdays, suggesting that less traffic could contribute to this behaviour. People aged between 30 and 35 speed the most.
“This data is powerful because it tells a story. Speeding remains stubbornly high. It is concerning to see from the data that many South Africans, particularly those in their early to mid-thirties, still tend to drive too fast on our roads,” says Attwell.
The report also confirms something else many of us already knew: Western Cape drivers and women, nationally, speed the least.
“In fact, women lose 30% less points for speeding compared to men,” says Attwell.
Men, however, are better at braking and not using their cellphones. They lose 10% less points for harsh braking and 18% less points for using their cellphones while driving.
Fuel for thought
The latest data shows that when the fuel price is about R22 per litre, the average client spends about R1 950 a month. When the fuel price increases above R24 per litre, clients spend about R2 150 each month and receive almost three litres less in fuel.
The data also shows that the fuel consumption of clients in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape is 1 litre per 100km more than that of clients in the other provinces. This is a result of worse traffic in these regions compared to other provinces.
When it comes to fuel efficiency – how much fuel is consumed per kilometre driven – Limpopo drivers top the charts, with an average fuel consumption of 6 litres per 100km. By comparison, if Gauteng drivers had the same fuel efficiency as Limpopo drivers, they could save almost 20% of their fuel bill every month.
