21 February 2006 In-car navigation equipment could be proving to be more of a hindrance than a help to the nation’s drivers, according to new research by safe driver champion, Privilege Insurance. As satellite navigation systems become as common as CD players the research reveals that over one in ten drivers (11 per cent) have used the controls on their satellite navigation while driving, instead of programming their route before hitting the road. What’s more, over half of these (53 per cent) admit that doing so meant that their eyes were taken off the road, leading to driving danger. Nearly one in eight (13 per cent) of drivers who use a satellite navigation device while driving confess to not spending any time planning a route they are unfamiliar with prior to setting off, relying heavily on the equipment to get them to their destination.

Safest driving tunes
2. Regional statistics Region Per cent of drivers who sing in their car  North West   57  South East   55  Yorkshire   53  Scotland   51  Midlands   51  North East   50  Wales / West   48  South West   47  London  47  East Anglia   41 3. Dr Nicola Dibben, Director of the MA in Psychology of Music at the University of Sheffield, is an expert on music, mind and culture, with over 40 publications spanning music perception, emotional responses to music, and critical and cultural theory.  Dr Dibbe... car comparison insurance uk Read more...

Confused over new reg plates
car comparison insurance uk Post Office Ltd is a separate limited company within the Royal Mail Group. More men than women understood what the car registration plates meant with eight out of ten (81%) women confused by the new format. "Fortunately Post Office® Car Insurance is straightforward and easy to understand so drivers won’t be mistaken by the value it offers." * Research carried out by Insight Research, interviewing a random sample of 563 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 1st August and 21st August 2005. Read more...

Weddings drive motorists to drink.
In the most serious cases, over one in six (16 per cent) drivers consumed more than 10 units of alcohol - of which, almost one in ten (nine per cent) then got behind the wheel of their car.  Of those drivers who have driven after drinking at a wedding, almost one in five (18 per cent) drove over 50 miles. *The legal alcohol limit for driving in the UK is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.  This statistic is based on an adult drinking more than 3 units of alcohol. car comparison insurance uk Read more...

“Privilege urges drivers to spend a few minutes planning their route on a map or Internet route finder so they can concentrate on the road once they set off. Drivers en-route should take a break every two hours anyway and so can use this time to check their location and the next section of the journey. Perhaps safest of all would be for drivers on an unknown route to take a passenger with them and allow them to navigate.” Notes  1. The research was conducted between 3rd and 6th February 2006. YouGov interviewed a sample of 1967 individuals in the UK on behalf of Privilege Insurance. The survey was carried out online. Results were weighted to be representative of the known profile of population from the 2001 Census. 2. 60mph = 90kph. 10 seconds is long enough to drive 250m at 90kph. A football pitch is 90-120m. This news story applies to England, Scotland & Wales only. Privilege Insurance -