World Cup sees huge rise in speeding incidences

London-based firm Insurethebox is asking young drivers to ‘kill their speed’ after it was revealed that speeding doubled for young drivers prior to big matches during the World Cup.

Analysis from the insurtech and brand of Aioi Nissav Dowa Europe (AND-E)  suggests that the level of speeding amongst drivers aged 17-24 years old was ‘dictated by the importance’ of the match, and it hopes that this ’driver data’ will ’educate’ footie fans on speeding,

It found that young drivers in the Midlands saw a 62% in the number of speeding incidences in the hour before England played - the greatest increase across the country.

Insurethebox is promoting the message that ‘young drivers could be scoring an own goal if they do not keep to the speed limit.’

Mike Swanborough, chief executive of AND-E, said: “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.

“We know that young drivers are four times more likely to crash in the first three months of their policy than their final three. And now, with this new insight, we can focus on a particular group of drivers with a targeted campaign.”

He added that the use of data to influence positive change is at the ‘heart’ of AND-E’s business.

Big games

The analysis of individual games revealed that speeding among drivers aged 17-24 years of age increased by 133% for fans in the East of England in the hour leading up to the Croatia semi-final.

Whilst young drivers in the West of England managed to stay within the speed limit during the group stages of the World Cup, but when England played Sweden there was a 167% increase in the hour before the game.

Liz Brooker, MBE, vice chair of RSGB said that helping young drivers to understand risks of driving too fast was ‘vital’ in reducing the number of collisions and casualties caused. She hopes that the analysis will provide insight to debate.

She said: “At Road Safety GB we believe that a combination of communication and intervention can deliver measurable results. 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.”

Swanborough added: “’It’s coming home’ has been a popular message for football fans this summer. But fans must make sure that no matter how big the game, it is not worth the risks that come with speeding.”