Cape Town in the Western Cape has the “least safe drivers” out of any metropolitan area in South Africa, according to data from Budget Insurance.
While the insurer didn’t provide the exact figures, it said drivers in Cape Town experienced the highest frequency of car accidents out of any city in the country between 2021 and 2023, with the number of claims submitted to Budget during this period rising by 36%.
Following the coastal metro were the cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg, respectively, both of which are located in Gauteng.
On the opposite side of the coin, the insurer rated East London, Eastern Cape as the city with the safest drivers in South Africa, Centurion, Gauteng as second, and Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal as third.
As provided by Budget, the metros with the lowest to highest number of car accidents, as well as the change in the amount of accident claims between 2021 and 2023, are ranked in the below table:
| Rank | City | Change in number of car accident claims from 2021 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | East London | +20% |
| 2. | Centurion | +45% |
| 3. | Pietermaritzburg | -10% |
| 4. | Port Elizabeth | +16% |
| 5. | Bloemfontein | +14% |
| 6. | Durban | +11% |
| 7. | Johannesburg | +23% |
| 8. | Pretoria | +15% |
| 9. | Cape Town | +36% |
East London, Eastern Cape
The provinces with the highest recorded number of car accidents and therefore the “least safe drivers” over the past two years were Gauteng, the Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.
Between 2021 and 2023, these provinces saw an uptick in claims of 21%, 22%, and 7%, respectively.
The three regions with the safest drivers, meanwhile, were the Northern Cape with a 12% increase, followed by the Free State at 10%, and then Limpopo at 5%.
As provided by Budget, the provinces with the lowest to highest number of car accidents, as well as the change in the amount of accident claims between 2021 and 2023, are ranked in the below table:
| Rank | Province | Change in number of car accident claims from 2021 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Northern Cape | +12% |
| 2. | Free State | +10% |
| 3. | Limpopo | +5% |
| 4. | North West | +2% |
| 5. | Mpumalanga | +31% |
| 6. | Eastern Cape | +13% |
| 7. | KwaZulu-Natal | +7% |
| 8. | Western Cape | +22% |
| 9. | Gauteng | +21% |
Springbok, Northern Cape
Most distracting songs
Whilst collating the data on the safest drivers in South Africa, Budget also determined which musical genres, artists, and songs are the most distracting on the road.
This was done by individually assessing attributes including loudness, beats per minute, how energetic the song is, and how easy it is to dance to, in order to arrive at a “distraction score.”
It found that hip-hop and amapiano songs by artists such as 21 Savage, Drake, Gunna, Kabza De Small, Lady Amar, Lil Durk, and Soa Mattrix ranked highly in terms of their distraction capabilities; whereas those from De Mthuda, Kelvin Momo, Spirit of Praise, Tyler ICU, and Uncle Waffles had the opposit effect on drivers.
As provided by Budget, the top 15 most and least distracting songs you can listen to out on the road are ranked below:
| Rank | Least distracting songs – Distraction score out of 100 | Most distracting songs – Distraction score out of 100 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Yayuppiyah, Uncle Waffles – 33.92 | Paris, Mthandeni SK – 78.62 |
| 2. | Sgudi Snyc, De Mthuda – 42.26 | Sprinter, Dave – 72.15 |
| 3. | Peacock Revisit, Uncle Waffles – 43.37 | Calm Down (with Selena Gomez), Rema – 72.12 |
| 4. | Thath’Indawo, Spirit of Praise – 46.91 | Mina Nawe, Soa Mattrix – 71.24 |
| 5. | Sukakude (ft. Sfarzo Rtee), Kelvin Momo – 47.37 | Fukumean, Gunna – 69.89 |
| 6. | Ngimoja, Tyler ICU – 48.08 | All My Life (ft. J Cole), Lil Durk – 69.73 |
| 7. | Ithuba, Lwah Ndlunkulu – 48.79 | Hamba Jube, Lady Amar – 68.93 |
| 8. | Fatela, Aymos – 49.49 | 3AM on Glenwood, Drake ft. 21 Savage – 67.47 |
| 9. | People, Libianca – 46.69 | Sosh Plata Remix, Loatinover Pounds – 67.37 |
| 10. | Wait For U (ft. Drake & Tems), Future – 49.84 | Flowers, Miley Cyrus – 67.05 |
| 11. | iMpumelelo, Sam Deep – 50.98 | Nana Thula, Kabza De Small – 66.98 |
| 12. | Umbayimbayi, Inkabi Zezwe – 51.02 | Ka Valungut, Tebza De DJ – 66.68 |
| 13. | Sure Thing, Miguel – 51.80 | Under The Influence, Chris Brown – 66.37 |
| 14. | When I See U, Fantasia – 52.19 | Gangnam Style, Mas Musiq – 65.51 |
| 15. | Awukhuzeki, DJ Stokie – 52.63 | Stimela, 2Point1 – 63.27 |
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