Traffic-Enabled Navigation saves drivers 4 days/yr

27 August 2009, 11:12am

August 27, 2009 – NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions, has revealed further insights from a proprietary research study designed to assess the consumer impact of everyday use of navigation devices. These findings focus specifically on the impact that the addition of real-time traffic has on the driver experience and point to the use of traffic information as a primary influencer in time savings for the average driver.

The results are from a three pronged study conducted in two metropolitan areas of Germany – Dusseldorf and Munich -- which evaluated drivers without a navigation system, drivers with a navigation system, and drivers with a navigation system that included real-time traffic. Previous studies in this field focused more on “getting lost” scenarios versus the benefits to drivers of navigation system use during the course of their normal driving habits.

The study revealed that the drivers using traffic enabled navigation devices experienced dramatic time savings, spending 18% less time driving on an average trip versus drivers without navigation. If applied over the course of a year, a driver who does not currently use a navigation device would save themselves 4 days of driving each year if they had a traffic-enabled navigation system. Additionally, the findings show that drivers with real-time traffic experience reductions in distance travelled as well as increase fuel efficiency which would lead to a decrease in CO2 emissions per driver of .79 metric tons, or 21% less than a driver without a navigation system.

These results not only point to the positive impact on German drivers, they can be projected to other countries as well, for example*:

· UK drivers with traffic enabled navigation would save 2.5 days per year and drop their CO2 emissions by 20%

· US drivers with traffic enabled navigation would save 4 days per year and lower their CO2 emissions by 21%

* Study results have been applied to country specific data (e.g. market size; average annual miles driven) in reporting these figures.

The participants, who had not previously owned a navigation device, had their vehicles fitted with a logging device which was used to track the route they drove and their driving speed. The study results reflect more than 2,100 individual trips, over 20,000 kilometres and almost 500 hours on the road.

The study was conducted by NuStats, a social science research firm that, over the past 25 years, has established itself as a leader in population surveys and qualitative research pertaining to transportation in general and personal mobility and transport use in particular.

“This study continues to support the positive effect that regular use of a navigation system can have on the consumer driving experience, not only in Germany, but validating the global trend which has often been implied but not proven. And in an era where time is money, the results show the addition of real-time traffic only enhances the benefits to the consumer,” says John MacLeod, executive vice president, NAVTEQ Connected Services.

NAVTEQ

Geo: International