February 2009

We're on the road to nowhere

A whole generation of young drivers are fast becoming incapable of reading ordinary UK roadmaps..... thanks to the Sat Nav age!

Motorists are relying far too much on technology to get them where they’re going - often at the expense of driving many unnecessary miles too far - says breakdown service Autonational Rescue.

And if you ask a young driver today to drive from London to Leeds, or Nottingham to Norwich, many probably won’t have a clue on the actual direction they need to take, or where major UK cities are actually located on a standard road map.

Autonational’s marketing manager Ronan Hart said: “Since they first started appearing in 2007, Sat Navs have changed the way people plan (or don’t actually plan) their journeys.

“But we very often find to our cost – and to the cost of the environment – that they sometimes get things wrong and can add many miles to a driver’s journey.

“We are certainly not advocating turning back the clock to the time before Satellite Navigation, but it is also common sense to carry an up-to-date printed roadmap in the car at all times (and use it in conjunction with other modern driving aids like Sat Nav) to plan journeys beforehand.”

It would also help younger, less experienced drivers to become familiar with the locations of major towns, cities, motorways and A Roads across the UK.

Added Ronan: “The biggest downside to Sat Navs is that they make drivers lazy. We simply put in the postcode of our destination, jump in the car and go – often not knowing precisely where we are or where we’re heading!

“Because of this remarkable technology, many drivers are losing sight of what cities and towns are in the North, South, East or West of the UK.”

• Autonational Rescue has launched its own route planning service at www.autonational.co.uk (click on route planner) allowing website users to plan their journey to and from any UK postcode.
  
  

Autonational Rescue is the car breakdown service with the no claims bonus, for more information visit www.autonational.co.uk or call 08459 100 345.

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Issued by: CPR Works Ltd
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Tel: 01902 680068
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