Satnav users admit to following instructions against their better judgement

Over a quarter of Satnav users continue to follow instructions which take drivers down unsuitable country lanes, according to a survey by rural insurer NFU Mutual.

Concerned about continuing high levels of accidents on rural roads - Government statistics show that car users are three times more likely to die on a country road than an urban one -the rural insurer is urging all rural road users to take special care as tourist traffic and harvesting both get underway.

The survey reveals that while 91% of people correctly think that rural roads are the least safe to drive on, 35% of people admit to not driving more slowly on them.

Meanwhile over a quarter of drivers using Satnavs admit to following its instructions even if it appears to be sending them the wrong way or into a narrow lane. This rises to almost half of 18 to 24 year olds "The survey shows that there is still an alarming lack of knowledge about the hazards of rural roads," says Ian Jewitt, of NFU Mutual Risk Management Services. "It's particularly worrying that a quarter of Satnav users continue to follow the gadget's instructions even when their eyes tell them they are heading up a farm track. This may account for some of the reports of vehicles stuck in fields and deep fords."

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He explained that once schools have broken up, extra traffic heads for the countryside just at the time when harvesting is getting underway and large numbers of tractors are likely to be on country roads An alarming number of the most serious accidents on rural roads involve farm vehicles coming into collision with fast moving cars, lorries and motorcycles. Many of these accidents are the result of human error, often due to lack of concentration by drivers, undue speed or faulty equipment such as indicator lights which are obscured or not working. "A common cause of accidents occurs when tractors slow down before turning right and impatient following drivers tend to try and overtake without realising that the tractor is about to move across the road.

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2008-07-22 17:33:36 © Moneyextra.com

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