Early last year, Lightspeed Research published a survey commissioned by TomTom. The results showed that the number one reason for in-car arguments (and over 40% of the total reported), was disagreements over reading road maps and the use of navigational systems. It seemed that most cars’ passengers had their own idea about the routes suggested by PNDs.But in October of this year, InSites Consulting performed a similar survey on behalf of Mio. The result of this research clearly shows that car drivers who don't have a PND, argue significantly more with their passengers while driving, compared to SatNav owners.
Quarrels
The research was performed in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy and Spain. Amongst these countries, large differences have been found. No less than 56% of all the Swedes argue when they are together in one car. In Norway that percentage is 44%. Denmark is a lot more peaceful: only 6% of the occupants quarrel in that country.But a navigational system most certainly has a positive influence on the atmosphere. People whose cars contain a PND argue 24% less than car owners who don't use such a system.
The figures are even more significant for couples. On average, 62% of all partners fight less in-car, when they use a navigational aid; and in the Netherlands, Belgium and France the improvement is even better - 72% less! With numbers like that you can start to get rid of all in-car arguments - it's as easy as buying a PND!
Popular
InSites Consulting also looked at a few other things that surround GPS systems, for example how many people use one. The Netherlands leads the pack here, where more than 39% of the inhabitants already own a PND. Satellite Navigation is also very popular in Belgium, with 33% ownership, Denmark (32%) and Italy (31%).People were also asked what they use their navigation systems for, and here the answers were mainly as you would expect. Most are used to plot a route to an unknown destination, as well as during motoring holidays. Also noteworthy is that in Sweden and Norway they are used a lot on boats and by pedestrians, while in all other countries that took part in the survey, in-car use was paramount.
Road Atlases
Despite the growing popularity of navigational systems, 82% of car users still have a road atlas in their vehicle, and they are more often used by women (53%), than by men (44%). But beware: the use of road atlases leads to in-car arguments, according to the research! In Sweden, Denmark and the UK, people seem most confident about their map-reading skills, and also the efforts of the partner are appreciated more in these countries. In Italy on the other hand, the confidence in the partner is very low.The research also seems to confirm that woman are less good at reading maps than men, or at least, think they are! 71% of all the women who took part in the survey agreed with the question, while the men were actually pretty moderate: 59% of them think women are not as good as men at reading maps.
