You can’t always be certain that doing your bit for the earth will save you money, but driving less will. I ran some figures through a spreadsheet and figured that for each 100 kms not driven, a typical person could save R129*, or more than a rand a kilometre. Of the R129, R55 is petrol savings, the rest is wear and tear on the car.

An article in the latest Mail & Guardian suggests that staying at home could save a person even more with a new auto insurance policy from Hollard Insurance. I don’t have any personal experience with Hollard or this particular policy, but the writer, Maya Fisher-French, says that for every kilometre she doesn’t drive in a given month, she saves 21c on her premium. She claims that as a light driver, Hollard’s Pay As You Drive policy is saving her R460 a month.

If I add another 21c savings for each of my 100 kms not driven, my total savings would be up to R150. Imagine how driving habits might change if we had to pull R150 from our wallets every time we drove 100 kms.

I can’t personally vouch for the Pay As You Drive policy, but I will say this: if a company is pricing its product in a way that gives clear incentives for doing the right thing, that company is itself doing the right thing.

*These were the reasonable-but-not-terribly-scientific assumptions I used. Fuel consumption: 10l/100km. Fuel price: R5,50. A car that loses R100 000 in value after driving it 200 000 kms. R3 500 tyres that last 40,000 kms. R1 500 service every 10 000 kms.