Study: Women really are driven to distraction

The insurer uses telematics technology and behavioural economics to help its members become better drivers. Its clients are monitored and provided with an analysis of how they drive. Clients are then rewarded with incentives such as fuel discounts for responsible driving, including not using a cellphone on the road and sticking to the speed limit.

"When it comes to male and female drivers, results show that, overall, females are still better drivers than males," said the company's Precious Nduli, head of technical marketing. "The only area where females fare worse than males is in distracted driving. Females tend to be more distracted for various reasons."

Male vs female

One reason for women being more distracted on the road is their cellphone use. Men, however, tend to speed and lose out on points in their acceleration, braking and cornering scores.

The Western Cape had the best drivers, followed closely by Gauteng. Next were KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga.

The Automobile Association of SA, releasing the results of a national survey on Friday, found that about 90% of motorists believe compliance with the laws of the road has worsened in the past two years - and 75% believe the attitude of motorists towards one another has deteriorated.

Survey: Driver attitudes going from bad to worse

5 May 2017

"These results are actually quite breathtaking as they seem to indicate, once again, that most motorists believe the problems onSouth African roads are someone else's fault," the AA said.

"Too many drivers believe road traffic laws don't apply to them."

The survey showed that faulty traffic lights were a major cause of concern on the roads, particularly in metropolitan areas.

Source: The Times