Available to all Avis Rent a Car customers at 10 locations nationally from 31 July 2017, the Avis SafeDrive app is uniquely integrated with Discovery Insure’s breakthrough telematics technology and its behavioural app-based programme, proven to help make South African roads safer.

The app is available on Android and IOS, so customers will be able to access trip data, see their driving scores, learn what they can do to improve them and redeem discretionary daily rewards.

“We’re excited to partner with Discovery Insure to launch Avis SafeDrive to encourage our customers to have a safer driving experience,” said Rainer Gottschick, Chief Executive at Avis Rent a Car Southern Africa.

“Avis data shows that rental cars are involved in a higher rate of accidents due to the frequency of their use and because clients use them with less caution than they would their own vehicles. With Avis SafeDrive, clients receive immediate feedback on their driving through the app, and are guided to accumulate points for good driving to unlock daily rewards such as a free coffee, smoothies or meals.”

Priced at R45 a day, the new product offers car rental customers a range of additional safety features which include:

• ImpactAlert: In the event of a harsh G-force affecting the vehicle, an automatic alert is sent to Discovery Insure emergency services, which triggers immediate assistance. This ensures that when a client is injured or unable to call for help, it will already be on its way.
• Panic Button: A discreet tool for any emergency - press your smartphone’s power button five times in quick succession to dispatch immediate assistance to your location.
• Access to the Avis 24-hour Breakdown and Emergency Call Centre.
• Severe Weather alerts via SMS, warning you to stay off the roads.

“More than 90% of accidents are the result of poor driver behaviour,” explained COO of Discovery Insure Francois Theron. “This includes speeding, using a mobile phone while driving and driving late at night.

“When paired with a smartphone, our telematics technology measures and reports back in real-time on acceleration, braking, cornering, speed, driving time, distance, trip location and mobile-phone use while driving. Discovery Insure’s accident frequency has dropped by 11% over 5 years as a result of rating and incentivising clients to improve their driving behaviour.” Theron concluded.

“With people being more important than cars, we would like to encourage our customers to use a system that has been tested and proven. We are committed to implementing technological advancements that encourage a safe driving experience for all our customers,” concluded Gottschick.

For more information about how Avis SafeDrive works and how to activate the app visit; https://www.avis.co.za/drive-avis/car-hire-extras/avis-safe-drive

According to the Department of Transport, about 80% of road fatalities involve males between 19 and 35 and the World Health Organisation’s global research shows that traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among people aged between 15 and 29 years old. While inexperience accounts for much of the increased risk, other factors include underestimating danger, speeding, late-night driving, distracted driving, not wearing safety belts, and driving under the influence. All of these factors contribute to the general perception that young people are not good drivers. However, Discovery Insure’s telematics empowered driver behaviour programme, Vitalitydrive shows that young drivers can be amongst the best drivers on the road.

Precious Nduli, Head of Technical Marketing for Discovery Insure explains, “Underpinned by key insights from the science of Behavioural Economics, our Vitalitydrive programme offers a powerful tool through which to monitor, track and reward good driving. Clients on the Vitalitydrive programme are rewarded for their evolution towards better, safer driving. Comparing Discovery Insure clients with young drivers who use our telematics technology we find that, despite their inexperience behind the wheel, our young drivers are really good drivers.”

One risky behaviour among young adults is late night driving. The chances of being involved in an accident are 10x higher between 23:00 and 04:30. One way of countering this is with a benefit that gives young adults great discounts for using Uber. Young adults show a 13% increase in their night drive score after activating the Uber benefit. In addition, there is an 11% decrease in their average kilometres driven in the late night time hours (23:00 to 04:30) per month, since activating Uber. This means that they are driving less at night.

“We are excited by these findings, reinforcing the power of our telematics technology to achieve safer driving, and reduce both accidents and claims to create a virtuous cycle of shared value. The programme is carefully designed to measure and improve driving behaviour to address the factors that increase accident risk among young drivers. Instilling safer driving behaviours from a young age, such as not speeding, not cornering harshly, not driving while distracted or when it’s late, become habit and create safer drivers in future,” said Nduli.

While our country’s requirements for a driver’s licence are strict, there is a need to encourage safer driving behaviour in young drivers from very early on. There are global efforts being made to encourage good driving from a young age. One example is the Safer Essex Roads Partnership #mysmallchange social media campaign focussed helping young drivers become better drivers. Discovery Insure’s telematics technology records and provides feedback on speeding, harsh braking, cornering, cellphone use, and the time of the trip to help clients improve their driving behaviour.

“We have even taken data from our Discovery Insure Driving Challenge and compared our young drivers’ behaviour with all other age groups who are not Discovery clients, and they perform better on these measures. It is evident that our young drivers are better than the average older driver who is a non-Discovery Insure client because they get immediate feedback on their driving and also get rewarded,” Nduli says.