Danger of the sat-navs that distract drivers

Sat-nav systems are as much of a dangerous distraction to drivers as using a mobile phone at the wheel, road safety campaigners claimed yesterday.

Pressure group Brake says the devices' on-screen maps should be banned and drivers made to rely on their verbal directions only.

Its poll of 1,000 drivers found more than half are too busy tuning the radio, talking on mobile phones or using sat-nav systems to pay attention to the road.

Distracted drivers are responsible for 387 crashes where a person is killed or seriously injured every year.

The research, carried out in conjunction with breakdown service Green Flag, found 57 per cent of motorists admitted to driving while distracted by something in the car.

Half confessed to eating when driving, while more than a quarter (27 per cent) said they changed CDs and tapes on the move.

Brake is calling for companies which produce routing systems such as sat-nav to require a compulsory licence, which would only be granted to those whose products meet certain safety criteria such as not having a screen which can distract drivers.

Jools Townsend, the campaign group's head of education, said: "Concentrating on something inside your vehicle, such as a sat-nav screen or your stereo, is obviously taking your attention away from the road and the job in hand - driving.

"This greatly increases your chance of crashing.

"If you are hungry or thirsty, need to take or make a phone call or reach for something in the vehicle, it is essential that you stop somewhere safe and take a short break.

"It could mean the difference between life and death for you, your passengers and other road users."

Last month the Government increased the penalty for driving while using a hand-held phone to a £60 fine with three penalty points.

But Brake called for a total ban, including drivers using hands-free phones at the wheel, because the conversation itself is a distraction.

They also said ministers should step up publicity on the dangers of using a phone, eating or following sat-nav behind the wheel, and called for more traffic police to catch distracted drivers in the act.