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Safer with sat nav?
I had to chuckle when I saw a report on how sat nav has a positive effect on driving safety popped into my inbox.
Unsurprisingly, the report was commissioned by a sat nav manufacturer - TomTom.
I've used plenty of sat navs and, admittedly, they've saved my bacon many a time. Their ability to guide you through a series of inner city one-way streets can simplify even the most complex of road systems. However, I find it hard to believe that, in general, I'm a safer driver when I use one.
Having a bright colour screen sat right in your field of vision can only be a distraction to what's on the road. And no matter how many times you're told not to, if you can't hear the volume or need to bash in a new route, the temptation to do so while driving often overrides safety concerns.
Worse still, you're often left to fumble with a touchscreen display as opposed to physical buttons.
Sat nav may be convenient, but despite what this report says I think they can be just as distracting while driving as mobile phones, if not more so.
Are you a safer driver when using a sat nav? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below. We'll publish a link to the full report when it's available.
Having just used SatNav (TomTom) for the first time on a trip to Bournemouth, I was impressed by how easy it was to use. It also gave me greater confidence as, admittedly, I'm not that good on navigation. It got me to my destination safely and quickly, without fuss. It got me home, too!
I would definitely recommend this system without hesitation and look forward to using it again and again in the future.
Posted by Pat Ross | June 20, 2008 7:32 PM
When used properly, Sat Nav is definitely safer - instead of worrying about directions you can concentrate on the road. Also as people get lost less often there's less chance of them having to speed to make up lost time.
But that must be weighed against not looking at the screen much - I mainly rely on audio cues to prevent being distracted - it's just a matter of using it wisely.
Posted by Chris at LG | June 24, 2008 3:03 PM
Yes - the ability of the driver to see a screen (eg DVD player) from the driving seat is illegal so I'm surprised there's not more fuss about the safety implications of sat-navs. There's an option to turn off audio (on the Tom-Tom) - perhaps an option to turn off the screen (obviously using a physical button!) and rely entirely on voice directions would be safer?
Posted by Barrie Hart | June 25, 2008 12:29 PM
Some Tom Tom devices (I know the 720 does it) can be set to turn the display off entirely, or to turn on only when an instruction is upcoming.
Posted by Kelvyn Taylor | June 25, 2008 4:42 PM
only an idiot would try to programme things on a sat nav while driveing, and they are also the ones that use mobile phones while on the move
Posted by alf pearson | June 28, 2008 2:34 PM