RSGB

There is no doubt that world cup fever gripped the country this summer and the achievements of the England team went a long way to recovering some form of faith in the national team. However did it come at a cost to road safety?

insurethebox, one of the UK’s biggest telematics insurance providers has shared analysis of driving behaviour before games in particular speed. In fact speeding increased 43% among the company’s 17-24 year old demographic before the semi final vs Croatia.

Simon Rewell, road safety manager at insurethebox, said: “Fans must make sure that no matter how big the game, it is not worth the risks that come with speeding.

“Leaving five minutes earlier is a much safer way of getting home for the game – and avoids the risk of a collision that could have lifelong consequences.”

insurethebox says its analysis suggests that the level of speeding during England’s World Cup campaign was largely dictated by the importance of the game.

In the hour before England played Belgium – which was effectively a dead rubber with both teams already qualified for the knockout stage – the incidence of young drivers speeding increased by just 7%.

Commenting on the statistics, Liz Brooker MBE, vice chair of Road Safety GB, said: “Helping young drivers to understand the risks associated with inappropriate speed is vital to help reduce the number of collisions and casualties caused by speeding.

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

“The 2018 National Road Safety 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. This analysis by insurethebox will provide useful insight for that debate.”

Should more be done to highlight this issue for future events with a large public interest, or is this an inevitable consequence of modern life, with time poor lifestyles?

One things for sure, we’d rather miss the kick off than not make it to our destination at all.