The dust may have already settled following England’s fourth place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but it turns out there are lessons to be learned not only on the football field but also on the road.
Analysis by insurethebox found that UK drivers aged 17-24 sped a great deal during the tournament, with ‘more important’ and weekend games prompting them to step on the gas even further.
According to the telematics insurance pioneer, speeding among the age group rose by over a fifth in the hour before each of England’s World Cup matches. The semi-final against Croatia, for instance, saw speeding climb by 43%.
“Speeding increased by 17% for the Tunisia match; 29% ahead of the Panama game; 7% in the hour before the Belgium match; 14% for the Colombia game; and 23% for the Sweden match,” reported insurethebox, which is a brand of Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe. “Young drivers in the Midlands had the highest increase in speeding across England’s campaign – speeding on average 62% more before England games.”
In the view of Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company of Europe SE chief executive Mike Swanborough, the risks just aren’t worth it.
“’It’s coming home’ has been a popular message for football fans this summer,” commented Swanborough. “But fans must make sure that no matter how big the game, it is not worth the risks that come with speeding. insurethebox is leading this campaign to empower young drivers to better manage their behaviour so that they and other road users stay safe.”
According to the CEO, as it is, young drivers are four times more likely to crash in the first three months of their policy than their final three… and so with the latest insight the insurtech hopes to drive home the message.
“The use of data to influence positive change is at the heart of our business,” explained Swanborough. “Over the last two years, our award-winning speed reduction campaign has used unique insight to connect with customers who frequently speed, highlighting the risk of an accident and urging them to slow down and take more care.
“Our work has seen speeding instances among the highest risk drivers reduce by about 28%. This has cut the frequency of accidents among young drivers by 9%, reduced the damage caused when bumps do occur, helped save the distress of making a claim, and, more importantly, reduced the risk of catastrophic injury.”
Meanwhile Road Safety GB vice chair Liz Brooker said aiding young drivers to understand the risks associated with inappropriate speed is important in helping reduce the number of collisions and casualties caused by speeding.
“At Road Safety GB we believe that a combination of communication and intervention can deliver measurable results,” noted Brooker. “Indeed, our National Conference later this year will set out to demonstrate how road safety professionals can combine the four ‘E’s’ – education, enforcement, and engineering, underpinned by evidence – to deliver casualty reduction improvements.
“And this initiative by insurethebox will provide useful insight for that debate.”
