New report reveals South Africans drive VERY fast
How does South Africans’ driving speed stack up against other countries? Or more accurately, how fast do our roads let us go? Here’s the answer…
So, how fast do South Africans drive? In my opinion, very fast. South Africans take advantage of the country’s wide-open spaces and well-maintained roads. Many also have the means to drive high-performance vehicles. And let’s not forget the minibus taxis—they often fly down the road at lightning speed, packed with twice the legal number of passengers.
Nevertheless, UK-based company MoneySuperMarket has added a scientific angle to the discussion by releasing a new report ranking countries by their average driving speeds, both fastest and slowest. So, let’s see how South Africans compare to the rest of the world…
HOW FAST DO SOUTH AFRICANS DRIVE?
Out of 37 nations counted, South Africa places in the top half, at number 12 on the list. According to the data, South Africa has an average driving speed of 93.6 km/h. Interestingly, America ranks number one with a 109.5 km/h average. And the small Mediterranean island of Malta comes lowest with an average journey completed at just 23 km/h.
Of course, the report’s methodology is important to help understand the findings. It seems to look at an average journey in each country through the distribution of types of roads and density of cars. For example, America has a lot of high-speed highways and sufficient roadways. While a small island like Malta, is made up of mostly urban roads and densely packed with lots traffic in comparison.
WHO IS THE FASTEST?
Several other notable countries average speeds above 100 km/h—Canada ranks second at 107.9 km/h, Oman follows in third at 104.7 km/h, Croatia takes fourth with 102.9 km/h, and Hungary rounds out the top five at 101.5 km/h. When focusing solely on urban average driving speeds (not shown below), Estonia leads at 46.6 km/h, with Brunei close behind at 46.3 km/h. Explore the full list below:
- 1. United States 109.5 km/h
- 2. Canada 107.9 km/h
- 3. Croatia 102.9 km/h
- 4. France 101.5 km/h
- 5. Hungary 101.2 km/h
- 6. China 98.8 km/h
- 7. Spain 98.4 km/h
- 8. Australia 97.5 km/h
- 9. Italy 97.5 km/h
- 10. Argentina 96.0 km/h
- 11. Germany 93.9 km/h
- 12. South Africa 93.6 km/h
- 13. Poland 92.9 km/h
- 14. Chile 92.5 km/h
- 15. Morocco 92.5 km/h
- 16. Portugal 92.0 km/h
- 17. United Kingdom 86.1 km/h
- 18. Ireland 85.1 km/h
- 19. Mexico 84.9 km/h
- 20. Russia 83.8 km/h
- 21. Japan 80.3 km/h
- 22. Botswana 79.6 km/h
- 23. Brazil 73.4 km/h
- 24. Mongolia 73.4 km/h
- 25. Thailand 73.0 km/h
- 26. Greece 68.9 km/h
- 27. Belgium 65.3 km/h
- 28. New Zealand 62.1 km/h
- 29. Indonesia 61.9 km/h
- 30. India 59.1 km/h
- 31. Bolivia 54.6 km/h
- 32. Bhutan 37.6 km/h
- 33. Saint Lucia 37.1 km/h
- 34. Haiti 35.5 km/h
- 35. Sri Lanka 35.5 km/h
- 36. Gambia 30.8 km/h
- 37. Malta 23.0 km/h