Old Mutual Insure promotes road safety in 2025 COTY
The South African Guild of Mobility Journalists (SAGMJ), in collaboration with Old Mutual Insure as headline sponsor of the Car of the Year for 2025, has announced that it will place a greater emphasis on road safety in the run-up to the festive season than in previous years in an attempt to align with the United Nations’ aim to halve road fatalities by the year 2030.
During the 2023/24 festive season, the Department of Transport reported 1,427 road fatalities. Most of these accidents were attributed to driver behaviour, with reckless driving and speeding accounting for over 80% of the incidents. Additionally, adverse weather conditions contributed to more than 10% of the crashes.
“Given the optimism in the market, we are confident that this year’s COTY competition will continue to inspire South Africans to pursue driving excellence, as well as achieve safer roads for us all,” said Jerry Anthonyrajah, Chief Commercial Officer of Old Mutual Insure.
As part of their joint road safety initiative, Old Mutual Insure and COTY suggest ensuring your vehicle is roadworthy before travelling, sticking to speed limits, avoiding distractions, verifying that your insurance is up to date, and saving the emergency contact numbers of your insurance provider on your phone.
Regarding the COTY competition, the assessment is based on various factors, including design, technology, engineering, performance, handling, innovation, and safety.
The COTY Jury, which includes motoring journalists like TopGear SA editor Lerato Matebese, is set to begin the detailed scoring process to determine the winner. The semi-finalists for the 2025 COTY will be announced in December, with the final voting taking place early next year.
The BMW 7 Series was crowned the 2024 COTY winner, while previous winners include the Ford Ranger in 2023 and the Toyota Corolla Cross in 2022.
