IN-CAR navigation systems make trips shorter and safer.
Wen-Chen Lee and Bor-Wen Cheng of the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology in Taiwan paid 16 drivers to use satnav systems that display suggested routes on a screen and 16 to use paper maps to get to a range of destinations. Satnav-aided journeys were around 7 per cent shorter than map-guided ones in towns, and 2 per cent shorter on rural runs, . As shorter trips use less fuel, Lee says they are kinder to the environment.
Lee also found that map users changed course more times per journey than satnav users. He concludes that satnavs 鈥渓ead to superior car handling and so may be safer鈥, because course changes are a sign of frustration, which can lead to dangerous driving.
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