From road rage to best driver – George’s story

Fatigued and frustrated by driving 80km to work and back on Johannesburg’s notorious highways, George Honiball, age 44, found that he could no longer control his temper. “I was becoming increasingly aggressive,” the father of two says, “and I started experiencing increasingly severe road rage.”

George’s bad temper on the road not only affected his driving behaviour, but also became problematic for his passengers. “My wife complained about how fast I was taking corners,” he says. But he ignored this feedback by telling her, “I use this route every day and I know how to drive.”  

Passionate about fast cars, George drives a 2.4l Honda Accord Type S. “It's a really powerful machine,” he says. He continued to deny that he had to change his driving behaviour.

His wife of 16 years became more and more scared to drive with him as his aggression and short temper spiralled out of control. Because of his comfort with excessive speeds and his aggressive driving style, George crashed two cars in a year. “I wrote off a car in 2012 and again in 2013. The first was not my fault, but I could’ve been more alert to avoid the situation,” he explains. “The second accident was entirely my fault. I was tired and driving on an unfamiliar road late at night.”

Taking back control

Realising that he couldn’t carry on driving this way and could endanger his and other people’s lives, George decided to take back control on the road. This meant making long-overdue changes to his driving behaviour.

In December 2013, George joined Discovery Insure. He started engaging with its rewards programme, Vitalitydrive, straight away to improve his driving. Vitalitydrive uses telematics (a technology that tracks how well you drive) and incentives to encourage clients to improve their driving.

The positive changes to his driving behaviour astonished him, his family, friends, and colleagues.

“After joining Discovery Insure, I loaded the Insure app and it helped me change my driving style. I did not realise that the speed limit reduced on the corners I was taking on the highway. I also learnt how sharply I had been braking,” he says. And of course, like many other drivers, he routinely used his smartphone while on the road. “Immediately I stopped fiddling with my phone while driving and discovered that it is not such a big deal if people have to leave a message for me,” he adds.

Now that his driving behaviour has improved as a result of engaging with technology-driven Vitalitydrive, he carefully obeys speed limits. Today, George is baffled at how other people drive. “Now I notice that other people are aggressive and sit on my tail on the corners that I used to whizz through.”

“My road rage has disappeared overnight. I don’t see other aggressive drivers as competition and no longer get angry when people overtake me or push in front of me,” he says. “Since I am driving slower and adhering to speed limits it does not bother me anymore.”

“I enjoy the Discovery Insure app and the way it challenges me to drive more responsibly,” he says, “I now try to anticipate when cars will brake suddenly in front of me to avoid penalties. It has really become a life tool for me.”

George has made further important changes to his routine to help him avoid road rage. “I listen to audio books and schedule meetings from 9:00, and no longer for 8:00, in case traffic delays me.”

George’s family and friends have noticed his safer driving habits and his positive engagement with Vitalitydrive. “My best friend commented on how much safer I drive. If I brake suddenly when he is in the car with me, he immediately asks if it will trigger on my app,” he says. His wife is also far more comfortable with how he drives now.

When a Discovery Insure representative was asked about George’s driving style, he said, “His driving is very safe and his scores are excellent in car control (acceleration, braking, and cornering) as well as low levels of speeding. His average star rating is 4.7 (out of a possible 5), which is far better than the average and places him in the top 10% of the population for safe driving.”