Insurers Rubber Stamp SatNav Safety

[RobBrady]

In the light of ever-growing concerns surrounding the safety of SatNav use in cars, it's interesting to note that Santander Insurance UK has announced that it will be giving away TomTom Starts worth £99 to their new car insurance customers.

It would be surprising if they didn't base this decision on some kind of actuarial evidence to back it up (as opposed to general research). If SatNavs actually reduce the number of accidents, this will of course reduce the insurer's payouts.

I suppose the fact alone that SatNavs considerably reduce journey times, could lead to the assumption that the less time on the road, the less chance of an accident.

Darren Cottage, the Corporate and Automotive Manager of TomTom comments on the deal saying, "Research results have shown that driving with a navigation device has a positive effect on driver safety, reduces stress levels and heightens awareness."

The Royal Society For The Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) say that "While these devices can, if used properly, reduce the risk of drivers crashing, they can also increase the risk (e.g., by distracting the driver) if not used properly. In particular, you should not adjust or operate devices while actually driving. For example, routes in the SatNav should be set before the journey starts. If it is necessary to make adjustments or to input new information, only do so when stopped in a safe place."
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Robert Brady

[mikealder]

[Guivre46]

As said elsewhere I second the 'more relaxed' and 'able to concentrate on the road' parts of this. Also confirm that I only tried once to re-route whilst moving and frightened myself so much, I've never done it again. The technology is sound, it is user behaviour that causes the problems.
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Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
Go 530T - unsupported
Go550 Live [not renewed]
Kia In-dash Tomtom

[robertn]

[MaFt]

perhaps their theory is that people will have so many issues with TomTom's current models that they will spend more time off the road and at home calling 0845 numbers, browsing our forums for help or smashing it to pieces?!

MaFt

[Guivre46]

Your right - probably reading too much into this. It is probably cheaper than giving an initial discount, or maybe they've just run out of parker pens?
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Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
Go 530T - unsupported
Go550 Live [not renewed]
Kia In-dash Tomtom

[Kar98]

That's probably thinking way too hard. It's no more than getting a toaster when opening a bank account, except the "freebie" is mildly related to the sold product.

[culzean]

Could be that the screen on the TomTom start is so tiny (3.5") that no-one is buying them and Santander got them for about £5 each. Why buy such a small sat-nav when most smartphones have that size screen now, and you can get a Garmin Nuvi 1300 series with a 4.3" screen and better functionality for a few quid more.

I totally agree that when used properly a sat-nav is a very useful aid to safer driving - but then they fit blue-tooth and MP3 to sat-navs which surely encourages people to mess with these devices when on the move!

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