Sat Nav Causes Over £200 Million In Annual Car Damage

Satellite navigation systems have cost the motor industry more than £203 million in the past year after drivers opted to follow the system as opposed to their senses.

The survey by Confused.com also showed that 83% of the 2,000 drivers who participated in the poll about sat navs said they had been misled by trusting their equipment to take them to their destination.

Of the motorists asked, 68% had admitted that sat navs had increased the journey time and petrol costs, whilst 52% of drivers had shouted or cursed their satellite navigation system.

When broken down further, the survey also showed that those in the East Midlands were the most likely to air their frustrations on the humble sat nav, however Aberystwyth in Wales has been given the dubious honour of 'sat nav anger capital in Britain'. This was after 75% of motorists in the town admitted to displaying bouts of rage at their systems.

In what may be considered a surprise though, it was female motorists who were the ones who most admitted to shouting at their sat nav systems, with male drivers staying calmer.

On the other side of the spectrum, Northern Irish drivers were the most satisfied with using their satellite navigation devices, whilst the Scots were more than likely to follow their sat navs and become lost, trapped or stuck.

Confused.com's head of car insurance Gareth Kloet said: “Our research has shown that the sat nav is not always the blessing it was once hailed to be and, increasingly, motorists appear to be citing the device as a source of frustration and danger.”