Published: 13th September 2009 | Author: The Times
In-car satellite navigation systems were implicated in more accidents than mobile phones and were only second to distractions caused by child passengers in a survey of almost 500 UK motorists.
The research, by academics at Heriot-Watt university, has fuelled concern among police and road-safety campaigners because, unlike mobile phones, their use while driving is not explicitly outlawed.
Sat navs are now standard, or optional extras, in new cars and sales across Europe doubled last year to almost 14m. It is estimated that a similar number of motorists in Britain own one of the devices.
Terry Lansdown, a senior lecturer of applied psychology at Heriot-Watt and lead author of the new study, analysed the responses of 480 motorists who took part in an online questionnaire to establish the causes of erratic and dangerous driving.
Unruly children were blamed as the most frequent distraction with 2.1% of drivers admitting to an accident.
Punching new information into a sat nav accounted for 2% of accidents, putting them in joint second place with MP3 players. This compares with 1.7% for reading a text message and 1.5% for writing a text message or using a handheld mobile.
A further 1.7% said they had been involved in an accident after following directions on a sat nav. The proportion was the same as those texting on their mobile phone.
Just less than 6% admitted to a “near miss” while entering a new destination into their sat nav or following on-screen advice.
The findings, to be presented this month at a conference on driver distraction and inattention in Gothenburg, Sweden, have prompted calls for sat navs to be fitted with a device making it impossible to adjust them unless the car is stationary.
“Following guidance from sat navs reduces the workload of driving but re-setting destinations is very bad practice,” said Lansdown.
“Drivers re-setting their sat navs in a simulator at the university demonstrated a difficulty in maintaining their position in a road lane. They weaved around. They also had difficulty maintaining the correct distance from the car in front”.
Lansdown said the scale of the problem was likely to be far bigger than the findings of his study suggested.
“This is self-reported behaviour so it is likely therefore the problem is even worse than drivers, who may fear identification, are admitting,” he said.
Superintendent Alan Duncan, a member of the Scottish road policing officers’ committee, which advises the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), said the use of sat navs posed a serious threat.
“We would always urge drivers to exercise due care and attention whilst behind the wheel, and to avoid unnecessary distractions.
“A momentary glance at a sat nav is okay but reprogramming it while the vehicle is in motion could be enough to cause a collision. If there’s evidence that suggests this is an emerging issue, we will look at it.”
A recent survey of more than 2,000 motorists for the insurance company Direct Line suggested as many as 290,000 drivers across the UK had been involved in an accident or near-miss because of their sat nav.
There are concerns the gadgets encourage a variety of dangerous driving behaviours such as dawdling on busy roads, reducing driver awareness and making dangerous, late or illegal turns.
In 2008, there were 2,538 fatal road accidents in Britain, including 271 in Scotland.
While there is no explicit ban on adjusting sat navs while driving, the Highway Code warns drivers against in-car distractions. It states: “Do not be distracted by maps or screen-based information, such as navigation or vehicle management systems, while driving or riding. If necessary find a safe place to stop.”
However, police have warned that individuals could face a charge of dangerous driving if they have a serious accident while re-programming their sat nav. The offence carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years and an unlimited fine.
Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said:
“The main reason for crashing is human error. Drivers need to be trained to pay attention at all times and not to be put off from what can be a developing crash situation just because they are taking a call or dealing with something inside the car.”
A spokeswoman for TomTom, one of the leading sat nav manufacturers, said: “Our sat navs are an aid to navigation and we would never suggest people input details whilst driving. [The device] should be kept on the windshield so the driver can keep their eyes on the road.”
