The telematics insurer reveals the significant reduction in miles and simultaneous increase in speeding over the 8-week-period
Weeks after the initial lockdown was eased, the UK is beginning to open doors to (new) normality.
After a considerable drop in the number of drivers on the roads, traffic is slowly resuming. The UK’s telematics insurance pioneer, insurethebox, has shared its latest data revealing how exactly the 8-week lockdown period1 showed on UK roads.
Miles driven2
After the initial lockdown announcement on 20th March, miles driven by insurethebox policyholders reduced by 72% in just 7 days. During the 8 weeks following this date, drivers covered 60% less miles compared to the same period in 2019. Miles driven decreased from 1.43 million miles per day before lockdown, down to 310,000 miles at the height of lockdown, and back up to 858,000 miles on 15th May.
Both male and female drivers reduced their driving at the same rate during this period. Before lockdown, men drove proportionally more miles than women on the weekends but this trend disappeared after the Government announcement.
17-21-year-old policyholders saw the biggest reduction in their driving during lockdown compared to other age groups.
Hours driven2
Reduced miles naturally reflect a reduction in hours spent driving. During the lockdown period, insurethebox policyholders spent less than half of their usual time behind the wheel: 28 hours per driver on average between 20th March and 15th May this year, compared to 62 hours during the same period in 2019.
Whilst policyholders drove 8 hours on average during the first week of April in 2019, this year they spared 5 hours of their time behind the wheel during the same week.
Speeding2
As reported by the insurer in April, the empty roads resulted in increased speeding on UK roads during lockdown3. The speeding propensity of insurethebox policyholders increased by 89% between March and April. Comparing to April 2019, drivers were speeding 66% more during the same month this year.
After active communication with policyholders who were breaking speed limits during this period, the insurer saw a decrease in speeding instances during the final weeks of lockdown. During the first two weeks of May, speeding had already decreased by 35% from April.
According to previous data from the insurer, male drivers speed more on average than female drivers4. During lockdown, women increased their speed more than men – but still sped less overall. Comparing to the same 8-week period in 2019, women increased their speeding by 57% and men by 36%.
Mature drivers increased their speed more than young drivers. Year on year, the age group of 31+ nearly doubled their speeding propensity. Drivers between the age of 26-30 saw an increase of 79%, 22-25-year-olds saw an increase of 47% and 17-21-year-old-drivers increased their speeding by 25%, compared to 2019. All age groups reduced their speeding in May at a similar rate.
With more people returning behind the wheel, insurethebox urges drivers to take caution. ‘As we have seen from our data, young drivers specifically have had a break from driving in the past few months. We encourage young drivers to go back to basics and re-acquaint themselves with the Highway Code, or start with going for a drive with a more experienced driver’, says Gary Stewart, Service Manager at insurethebox.
‘Keeping your speed down and staying alert will be extremely important as the roads get busier again. It was, however, encouraging to see the reduction in speeding after communicating with our customers. We believe that education plays an enormous part in young driver safety, and have made sure our communication campaigns support customers during this crisis.’
1Lockdown’ or ‘lockdown period’ in this release refers to 20th March – 15th May 2020. These dates have been used to reflect a total of 8 weeks during the strictest lockdown measures in the UK. All year-on-year comparisons refer to 20th March – 15th May 2019.
2Insure The Box Limited policyholders’ driving data 2019-2020.
4 https://www.insurethebox.com/17-year-old-men-speed-130-more-than-women-of-the-same-age/
ENDS
Media enquiries to:
Nathan Manley/Pihla Hellgren
Email: press@insurethebox.com
Notes to Editors
insurethebox
Insure The Box Limited launched in June 2010 with its first product, insurethebox, and now holds over 5 billion miles of driving data and associated claims. As well as insurethebox and drive like a girl (another Insure The Box brand) it also administers other telematics offerings. Insurethebox is owned by Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe Limited, part of the major Japanese insurance group MS&AD Holdings, Inc. The group is taking a leading role in the development of technologies that will change the face of motor insurance and the way we view the car.