Redtail Telematics’ analysis of the driver behaviour of over 10,000 UK motorists reveals the 25 best and worst brands of vehicle driven on UK roads

• Results are based on the analysis of a range of driver behaviours including harsh braking, acceleration and hard cornering
• Audi and BMW jointly recorded the worst driving scores
• Land Rover and Toyota shared top spot, with best scores
• Solidly mid-table are a diverse mix: Ford, Vauxhall, Jaguar and Mazda
• The top half of the table also includes Renault, Volvo, Nissan and Hyundai
• Below that midpoint are Peugeot, Mini, Mercedes Benz and VW

(Full table of results below)

CAMBRIDGE, UK – Analysis of data obtained from vehicles that have a Redtail Telematics’ device or ‘black box’ installed to record driver behaviour as part of a driver’s motor insurance policy has revealed the best and worst driven brands of vehicles on UK roads, with Audi at #25 as the brand with the worst driver behaviour and Toyota being the brand with drivers demonstrating the best driver behaviour (#1).

REDTAIL’s telematic devices calculate a “driver score” for motor insurance purposes. This score is based on driving behaviours linked to accidents such as fast or bad cornering, tailgating, harsh braking and acceleration, and excessive speed. These parameters have been fine-tuned over many years. Analysis of past accidents highlights that drivers with the poorest scores are over ten times more likely to be involved in an accident than those with the best scores.

Redtail divides driving risks into two types: those that drivers can control and those they can't. Based on the controllable behaviours, Audi is one of the worst driven cars out there, while Toyota is one of the safest.

To figure out how risky a driver's habits are, we look at seven different behaviours that they can control. For example, harsh acceleration results in greater wear and tear on a vehicle and often leads to aggression-related driving incidents and more braking which wastes energy. Per mile driven, Audis and BMWs are the most likely to have incidents of harsh acceleration.

Redtail’s analysis identified that drivers of Audis and BMWs have the harshest accelerator foot while Toyotas and Dacias have 66% and 75% fewer harsh acceleration incidents respectively.

Braking too hard is also a problem. Braking unnecessarily is the biggest waste of fuel and braking harshly is the quickest way to lose control; it can make the car skid, which can cause accidents and wear out the brakes and tyres. Audi is still at the top of the list for this problem, with harsh braking events an incident every 2.5 miles. However, Land Rover has less than half of this at with one every 6 miles.

Turning corners too fast can be risky too, especially if braking at the same time. With incidents occurring every 45 miles, Audi drivers top this list too. We saw Toyota drivers showing by far the best anticipation and only cornering badly every 300 miles.

Finally, it’s no surprise that driving too fast in general can make it harder to stop the car in an emergency and causes significantly more damage if the vehicle is involved in an accident. On average, Audis and BMWs are the fastest, reaching maximum speeds nearly 20% greater than Toyotas.

The 25 best and worst driven vehicle brands in the UK (#1, best –#25, worst)

1. Toyota
2. Land Rover
3. Lexus
4. Dacia
5. Hyundai
6. Nissan
7. Honda
8. Volvo
9. Skoda
10. Fiat
11. Renault
12. Jaguar
13. Mazda
14. Vauxhall
15. Ford
16. Citroen
17. Smart
18. Kia
19. Peugeot
20. Mini
21. Mercedes Benz
22. VW
23. SEAT
24. BMW
25. Audi

Dr Colin Smithers, CEO, Redtail Telematics comments: “Over time Redtail Telematics has been responsible for around 7 million black box devices processing over thirty billion miles of data for insurers, fleet managers, OEMs and consumers around the world.

Billions of miles have been driven on Britain’s roads this decade in cars fitted with “telematics” boxes recording every detail of a driver’s behaviour – whether they are speeding on a 30mph urban road, how they are cornering on a country road, and how they are braking or accelerating on a motorway.

Installed in about 1m cars by insurance companies, they offer drivers less costly insurance if they drive more carefully. But the telematics black boxes also reveal a wealth of data about how Britain drives - debunking a lot of modern myths but confirming many others as our research reveals.”

“On a positive note, the insight provided by Redtail Telematics driver scoring can prompt improvements in driving behaviours which can have a positive impact not only on reducing the risk of accident but also on fuel consumption and consequent emissions; viz. this correlation between safe driving and eco driving means that if we all changed our habits to find 15% better fuel consumption (e.g. by greater anticipation and so less unnecessary braking, and by limiting our cruising speeds), we would consequently reduce emissions by a similar proportion, which across the UK population is millions of tonnes of CO2 and at the same time reduce accidents by a similar proportion, with a consequent saving of lives and of lives ruined”, concludes Dr Smithers.

About Redtail Telematics
A leading Telematics Service provider (TSP) provider of telematics solutions to usage-based insurance (UBI), automotive, fleet tracking, and stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) sectors globally. Redtail draws on its joint heritage with sister company, Plextek, the communications technology design house. The Redtail team has supplied over seven million devices into the automotive aftermarket in over thirty countries since 1993.

Redtail Telematics Ltd is headquartered in Cambridge, UK with subsidiary Redtail Telematics Corp in San Diego, California. Redtail enjoys the unique benefit among TSPs in designing and manufacturing its own devices as opposed to purchasing them from a technology provider.

The company has expanded significantly beyond exclusively offering telematics device design and manufacture to offer a broad set of services. Offerings include APIs, portals, apps, all of which underpinned by the capture, analysis, and processing of valuable telematics. In short, a one-stop-shop IoT solution for insurers and enterprise customers with control over the whole stack, vital for optimised and customised solutions.
Redtail devices and services are used by Admiral, ingenie, ByMiles, Ford, TRACKER UK, LoJack, CalAmp, Concirrus, Acorn and JLR, among others.

Press contact - James Lambert, Intelligent PR james@intelligentpr.co.uk