With the football season now well underway, new data from telematics insurance company, insurethebox has revealed young motorists dramatically increased their speed before important matches.

The company said instances of speeding among their predominantly 17-24-year-old drivers increased by over a fifth in the hour before England matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

During the competition, young drivers from the Midlands sped the most: during the group stage games their speeding increased by 46%. This increased further through the knockout stages as England gained momentum, with speeding up by a massive 78%. Young drivers in the East of England ranked second overall, with a 133% increase in speeding before the Croatia semi-final – the highest in the country for this match.

The insurethebox 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, the likelihood of young drivers speeding increased by 7%. However, before England’s semi-final against Croatia, there was a 43% hike in young motorists speeding and young motorists spent 1 in every 5 miles speeding compared to the usual average of 1 in every 9 miles.

insurethebox uses individual driver data to determine the risk profile of each policyholder and calculate their premiums. The company shares driving data with customers through a personalised online portal, empowering them to better manage their driving habits to reduce their risk profile and therefore their premiums.

The conclusion for fleet operators is that there might be an increased risk of accidents occurring during high-profile sporting events such as football matches.  Drivers should be made aware of this possibility which might help to moderate their behaviour.