Driver prefer atlas to sat-nav

SATELLITE NAVIGATION may have become an integral part of many drivers’ daily routine, three quarters of the UK’s motorists (76%) say they still prefer to use a road atlas to plan journeys.

Drivers in a survey by the AA said they found an atlas more useful to give an overview of a journey. While satellite navigation systems are useful, a further 65% of drivers said they still use an atlas to check the sat-nav is selecting the best route.

Younger drivers (30%) are less likely to use an atlas than older drivers, with over-65s (70%) the most happy to refer to a road atlas. More than half (58%) of drivers said using a sat-nav means you don’t really know where you’re going but just following directions. Many sat-nav owners admitted their system had got them lost at some point.

Edmund King, President of the AA, said: ‘With 20 million motorists expected to take a summer holiday this year involving driving in the UK or abroad, the AA’s road atlases are the motorists summer saviour, helping to not only plan routes and get back on track if you get lost but also find great places to explore along the way. It’s great to see that planning days out and holidays were among the top 5 uses of our atlases.’

By Press Association reporters