Insurer emphasises safe driving on SA roads as motorists rewarded with brand new cars
Two Discovery Insure clients who swiped their cards while buying fuel at a BP fuel station have been rewarded by winning two brand-new cars.
Discovery Insure said their clients spent R213 million on fuel in a two-month car giveaway competition where they stood a chance to win two VW T-Cross cars.
The cars were handed over to the winners, Mfezeko Gwazube and Andrew Prinsloo, recently at an event held at the Zwartkops Racetrack in Pretoria.
But apart from the car giveaway, the big message from the insurer was safety, safety in the car, safe driving, and safety on the roads.
Robert Attwell, Discovery Insure chief executive, said there were 290,000 card swipes, among them 19,600 new card swipes, generating over R200 million in fuel purchases during the campaign period.
“For us, it's a bit of a mixed emotion because the more people drive, the more they are on the road, and the higher the risk of accidents.
“The great thing about Discovery Insure is that our clients are better drivers than the average driver, and we know that they have less frequent accidents and those accidents are less severe.
“We have absolutely no problem with people driving because we know they drive really well,” he said.
Attwell said Discovery Insure would foot the insurance bill for the first year for Prinsloo and Gwazube, who were both ecstatic about their new cars, hooting excitedly after being handed the keys.
They, along with guests, were also given a complimentary VW Advanced Driving experience as part of the insurance company's goal to realise safe driving on SA roads.
According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s Cost of Crashes report, South African roads were among some of the world's most dangerous roads, with crashes costing the economy around R143 billion per year, as of 2015.
This was 3.4% of SA's gross domestic product at the time.
Discovery Insure predicts the figure is closer to R178 billion now.
In July, the RTMC, along with Santam Insurance, launched a campaign targeted at truck and bus drivers who have been involved in several serious crashes in recent months, leading to scores of people dying mostly due to, amongst others, human errors such as speeding, fatigue, and unsafe overtaking.
"Combating the scourge of road carnage in our roads requires a collaborative effort to improve the safety of our citizens. This joint effort with Santam will help us to reach more road users with messages that reinforce positive driver behaviour,” said RTMC CEO Advocate Makhosini Msibi.
The RTMC said a baseline study it conducted between January 2018 and December 2022, showed that 4,001 trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes.
It said in 2,560 fatal crashes there were 3,413 fatalities with a combined crash severity of 1.33 (average fatalities per crash).
The RTMC said a total of 455 buses were involved in 323 fatal crashes, with 487 fatalities recorded in such crashes.
The study also found that Saturdays and Sundays were the most likely days for truck and bus crashes.
It said trucks were most likely to be involved in a crash between 6 and 10 pm on a Saturday and Sunday night.
In terms of buses, the RTMC said most crashes happened between 5 and 8 am on Saturdays and Sundays.
Taelo Mojapelo, the BP Southern Africa CEO, said they were placing safety at the centre of everything they do.
She said BP was committed to creating a nation of safe drivers as they go about their journey to reimagining energy.
“When people wake up in the morning to go to work for their families, we want to make sure they have a safe journey.
“In our business, we transport hydrocarbons, which are dangerous and highly flammable products.
“We have really focused a lot on safety, which is why you will hardly hear about a BP truck rolling over or anything of that sort.
“We have recorded 1877 days without an incident in our business. When we talk about safety, it's not only about physical safety, it's about mental wellness and psychological safety.
“It's about making sure the person behind the wheel is safe and mentally sound,” she said.
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