South Africans are taking the #DriveNowTextLater pledge to reduce their accident risk on the road and maybe win big in the process!
South Africa (09 May 2025) – A thumbs up has so many meanings; it can indicate that you are good or need help in hitching a ride somewhere, but most recently, it has become a pledge to be a safer road user. South Africans are giving a thumbs-up by pledging to stop texting while driving through the Discovery Insure campaign #DriveNowTextLater, in partnership with bp South Africa.
By getting involved, pledgers are not only helping create a nation of safe drivers but are also reducing their accident risk by up to 23%.
Did you know: 5 seconds on your phone at 60km/hr is equivalent to driving the length of a rugby field blind or that 20 seconds of cellphone use increases accident risk by over 60%?
Discovery Insure has done all the research and found that there has been a big increase in accidents because of phone use versus speeding. Thanks to 20 billion kilometres of driving data and more than 500,000 trips logged daily, the team at Discovery Insure knows how to tackle this problem. This is their way of encouraging the public to be better, safer drivers.
“The dangers of texting while driving can’t be overstated. It’s time to make texting while driving socially unacceptable – just like drinking and driving,” says CEO of Discovery Insure, Robert Attwell.
“Our new campaign is about sharing information and helping people develop healthier driving habits,”
The hope is to inspire a cultural shift where texting and driving isn’t acceptable anymore, where being a safe driver is something to aspire to.
So, how exactly can you make the pledge? Visit a bp service station near you and fill up for R600 or more to get your sticker card. Simply place the #DriveNowTextLater sticker on your thumb and take a photo showing your pledge, then encourage your community to do the same by sharing your photo to your social media profiles.
“If one small pledge can prevent one accident, then this campaign will have made a meaningful difference.” -Nokwanda Khumalo, bpSA GM for Mobility & Convenience
How South African drivers can take part:
- Spend R600 or more at any participating bp service station to qualify before the campaign ends on 13 July 2025.
- This will get you your thumb sticker.
- Snap and share a photo of the sticker on your thumb to social media using #DriveNowTextLater to stand to WIN your share of R1 million in cash.
If photos are not your thing – you can also make a digital pledge. Visit the Discovery Insure webpage to find out how and to learn more about the competition.
Sources: Discovery Insure
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in America, a survey was done and it was found that to texting/Whats App whilst driving, is 6 times more dangerous than drunk driving ( and now we are not even talking about sober driving), yet the RTMC is trying to bullshit us by saying most head on crashes are due to drunk driving- us people in Insurance knows the truth, namely that it is texting/Whats App. The AARTO is not giving enough negative points for this and in fact, it should also fall in the category of a direct court appearance.