South Africans spend the most time in traffic and they love it
South Africans reportedly love long rides to and from work.
While you might think sitting in traffic might feel like the worst thing, a new study by AutoTrader UK shows that South Africans actually enjoy their daily commute.
South Africans spend more time behind the wheel than drivers in any other country from the study, including India.
Despite this, local commuters describe the experience as relaxing.
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According to the data, the average South African commuter spends 10 days, 4 hours and 48 minutes every year driving to and from work.
That is well above the global average of 8 days, 5 hours and 53 minutes.
“South Africa has the longest driving commute in the world. South Africa tops the global ranking with drivers spending over 10 days, 4 hours and 48 minutes annually commuting,” AutoTrader said.
To get these numbers, researchers looked at self-reported daily travel times and factored in weekly work schedules, public holidays and annual leave balances for each country.
“Following closely behind, India comes in second, spending 10 days and 1 hour, while Irish commuters rack up 9 days and 14 hours each year.”
Why do South Africans enjoy driving?
While 53% of drivers globally say they enjoy their daily commute, South Africans take the lead among those who enjoy it the most.
“This is especially the case in South Africa, where 72% find the daily drive relaxing,” it said.
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In comparison, 57% of American drivers enjoy their “peaceful” commute, followed by New Zealand (55%), Germany (54%) and the Netherlands (53%).
Most people use the time to catch up on music, podcasts or audiobooks.
Many respondents also noted that they value the solitary “me-time” or simply enjoy the physical sensation of being in the driver's seat.
“In contrast, 34% of global commuters find their drive to work stressful, with India leading the way, with over a third reporting their journey to work is not relaxing,” AutoTrader said.
The biggest headache for drivers across the globe remains traffic congestion, particularly in South Africa, India and Portugal, where busy roads are blamed for longer travel times and rising stress levels.
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“Beyond gridlock, it’s driver behaviour that gets under most people’s skin. Bad driver behaviour is cited by 70% globally as a major dislike,” AutoTrader said.
Maintenance is another hurdle.
The study found that 51% of motorists globally dealt with car issues that disrupted their commute over the last year. Locally, that number is much higher.
“Drivers in South Africa reported the most unreliable commutes, with a staggering 84% experiencing a car fault that impacted their journey in the past year,” AutoTrader said.
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