Durban is home to South Africa’s most aggressive drivers, while Johannesburg drivers are the most distracted.
This is according to Discovery Insure’s latest Holiday Drive Trends report, which offers a data-driven look at festive season travel patterns in South Africa.
The analysis draws on telematics data from 200,000 Discovery Insure clients and 170 million trips recorded over the past three holiday seasons.
“With the enormous volume of driving data we analyse each year, we can see the rhythm of South Africa’s festive travel with real clarity,” said Precious Nduli, Chief Commercial Officer of Discovery Insure.
“These trends help us highlight the behaviours that put people at risk – and the simple choices that make holiday travel safer for everyone.”
When looking at short trip data (under 25km) across different cities, the data shows distinct differences in festive season driving behaviour across the major metros.
Durban’s drivers are the most aggressive, with the highest acceleration penalties and the most speeding events.
Discovery Insure noted that speeding increases 23% during the festive season overall, but saves virtually no time – two to four minutes per hour.
“Speeding offers almost no benefit in terms of travel time to your holiday destination but dramatically increases the risk of accidents,” said Nduli.
On the other end of the scale, Cape Town’s drivers are the slowest on the roads, even if they record the highest cornering events.
Joburg drivers, however, have the highest rates of distracted driving, referring to the most phone use behind the wheel.
When observing people, men exhibit the most aggressive driving behaviour, characterised by 22% harsher acceleration, 43% sharper cornering, and 25% more speeding.
However, women show higher levels of distracted driving, including 15% more phone use and 9% more abrupt braking than men.
Drivers aged 30 to 35 record the highest rates of speeding and distracted driving.
Younger drivers (20 to 25) are more attentive but have higher accident rates due to limited experience.
The most travelled routes
For Discovery Insure clientele, the route from Joburg to Durban via Harrismith is the most heavily travelled long-distance route, with an average of 11,000 trips.
Cape Town Saldanha Bay follows with more than 9,000 trips, while Joburg to Limpopo via Bela-Bela comes in third place with 8,000 visits.
Other popular routes also include Durban to the South Coast and Cape Town to George, with both recording approximately 6,000 trips.
Despite being the nation’s two largest cities, only 2,500 trips were recorded to Cape Town from Johannesburg.
“Our roads follow a predictable rhythm every December,” noted Nduli.
“The festive migration starts between 15 and 24 December, and this pattern has remained stable over the past three holiday seasons.”
Return trips peak on 2 January, the busiest travel date of the season, with traffic volumes up five times higher than mid-January.
After 6 January, volumes fall dramatically and settle at roughly 10% of peak levels by mid-month.
Discovery Insure said that travelling outside these peak days can reduce time spent in congestion and lower the risk of incidents on major routes.
