Don’t get distracted by your Sat Nav

4th November 2012

Sat Navs are one of the most useful aids a professional driver can possess besides the vehicle. They have saved fleets time and money, and probably saved some drivers their jobs! But they can also be a dangerous distraction.

New research from University College London has found that trying to retain a visual memory of an image, for example a Sat Nav, can lead to a driver missing actual events happening in front of their eyes. 

To use a Sat Nav safely, it’s also important to position them so that the driver can still see out of the whole of the windscreen. Most devices have a night-time mode to dim the light, which should be used when it’s dark to avoid glare on the windshield. 

“For every amusing anecdote or photograph of a car in a river because the driver followed the Sat Nav too resolutely, there’s a story of someone being seriously injured or killed for the same reason,” warns Jakes de Kock of The Fuelcard Company.  “It’s imperative that all drivers, including those that would class themselves as professional, are aware of these dangers and use their own common sense. They help to navigate, not to warn you of dangers on the road.”