Johannesburg - Although pub arguments will continue to rage on about which is SA's best region in which to live, which has the best weather, people and so on, you might now be able to say - with some certainty at least - which province is home to South Africa's best drivers.
According to new research released by Discovery Insure, the Western Cape takes the lead, followed by Gauteng, while KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo have the worst drivers.
And the evidence? During the month of June, Discovery Insure collected and analysed 16.8 million kilometres worth of driving data from its road safety smartphone application.
According to the insurance company, more than 36 000 people have so far downloaded the Discovery Insure Driver Challenge app, which allows you to gain real-time and detailed feedback on your driving after each trip and score yourself against your friends.
The app uses your smartphone's accelerometer, gyroscope and GPS to compile information on whether you're speeding, the harshness of your cornering and braking and, of course, it'll also pick up on whether you're texting while driving.
Another observation, which we'll not dispute, is that the app shows women to be better drivers within the parameters of the contest.
WOMEN ARE BETTER DRIVERS
While Discovery Insure declares that women are better drivers, the data did show that its female app users were guiltier of harsh braking and using their phones while driving. Men, on the other hand, lost “significant points” for speeding and harsh cornering.
The company also pointed out that its drivers with the highest scores have up to 25 percent fewer accidents and those with below average scores are up to 80 percent more likely to prang.
However, the app is at least leading to safer driving habits as Discovery Insure CEO Anton Ossip puts it: “We're particularly pleased that most users were able to improve their driving scores within a short space of time, which shows that if people are willing to improve their driving behaviour if offered the tools on how to improve to make a real difference to road safety.”
Interested in participating? You don't need to be a Discovery Insure client to use the app as it's available as a free download from the Android Play Store and iOS App Store.
HOW THE PROVINCES RANKED
1. Western Cape
2. Gauteng
3. Eastern Cape
4. North West
5. Free State
6. Northern Cape
7. KwaZulu-Natal
8. Mpumalanga
9. Limpopo