Friday, May 29, 2009

40% of drivers race satellite navigation systems (UK)


Research has shown that 40% of UK drivers are breaking speed limits in order to beat their sat nav's estimated arrival time.

New figures from windscreen company, Autoglass show that 4 out of 10 motorists are effectively 'racing' the sat nav ETA and breaking the law in the process. More than 3,000 motorists responded to the survey that also found that 10% of those speeding have already received penalty points or a fine because of their own sat nav 'challenge'. Almost 3 out of 10 (26%) of young drivers aged 25 and under admit that they nearly always challenge themselves to beat the ETA time on the satellite navigation compared with only 1 in 10 (10%) of motorists over the age of 25. 2 out of 10 (17%) 17- 18 year old drivers confessed that they have already received penalty points or a fine for being caught trying to out-do their estimated arrival time by speeding.

Men are much worse than women with 45% of male motorists confessing to challenging the ETA time compared with 30% of female drivers. A quarter (25%) of men admit they are more likely to try and beat the sat nav if they are alone in the vehicle than if they are accompanied with their partner.

The top three UK cities and towns where this craze is most popular are Aberystwyth, Wolverhampton and London.