Thanks to the new Gautrain line between Hatfield, Pretoria and Rosebank, hundreds of people who’ve spent years commuting to work and back on heavily-congested roads are revelling at the thought of being able to leave their cars parked safely in the Gautrain garage.
And why not, shirking the road for rail comes with the promise of saving on precious time, petrol, sanity, vehicle wear and tear, and CO2 emissions.
Auto & General Insurance understands all too well the risks of road travel and the close correlation between rush hour and road rage from its years of studying and insuring South African motor-owners. As such, the company is urging more car-owners to climb onboard the Gautrain as a way of reducing travel costs and frustrations.
The company’s spokesperson, Angelo Haggiyannes, however cautions car-owners against ditching their insurance when they ditch their road commutes.
“For too long we’ve waited for reliable and efficient public transport and now we have it. For the average motorist who spends anywhere between an hour and a half to three hours negotiating Gauteng’s busy routes, taking the train means they have more time to themselves in the day. It also means less wear and tear on their cars, and unless they were part of a lift scheme where petrol costs were shared, it comes with the bonus of slicing petrol costs as well.
“We do however encourage car-owners to keep their cars insured even they’re left parked for the better part of the week. Car insurance, a grudge purchase as it may be, remains a necessity in South Africa with car-jackings and theft commonplace,” he says.
Haggiyannes points out as well that most car accidents occur within a five kilometre radius of home.
“Crashes at intersections and in shopping centre parking lots are extremely common. So, while you might be eliminating the risk of an accident on longer commutes to work by using the train, you could still have an accident while running your errands in your own neighbourhood.
“Even a small bumper bashing can result in expensive damage caused to your car. Unless you are comfortable that you could cover the costs from your own purse should anything happen to your vehicle, cancelling your car insurance as you buy your first monthly Gautrain ticket shouldn’t be an option,” says Haggiyannes.
Instead of cancelling their car insurance altogether, Haggiyannes advises policyholders to rather speak to their insurers about reassessing their policies.
Get the latest issue of FAnews