Battle Of The Sexes Over: Men DO Get Help With Directions

SatNat voice poll sees spouses/politicians unlikely to get drivers to use the GPS

Sydney (I-Newswire) July 31, 2012 - The advent of the SatNav has seen a role reversal in one of life's great front seat "Battles of the Sexes". New research from leading national car insurer, AAMI, reveals that it is now men who are seeking navigational advice rather than women.

Nationally, 64% of males use a GPS device to find their way as opposed to only 50% of females*.

"In the past, the man was confident he could find his own way. It was a point of honour, sometimes known as stubbornness. Their long-suffering wives and girlfriends, meanwhile, insisted on asking for directions, knowing full well it would have to happen eventually." said AAMI Corporate Affairs Manager, Reuben Aitchison.

"Now the wonders of modern technology have turned this time-honoured tussle on its head and brought peace to the front seat. At least as far as directions are concerned.

And if spouses were looking for ways to maintain matrimonial harmony on the highway, in a separate poll, AAMI asked whose voice would be most likely to get you to use your GPS.

Actors dominated the poll, with 'Morgan Freeman as God' securing 40% of the vote, followed by 'Your favourite actor/actress', Family Guy's Stewie Griffin and Alan Rickman. Surprisingly Darren Lockyer and Yoda also garnered strong support.^

While SatNavs are undoubtedly useful, especially for keeping the peace, they do come with an element of risk," Mr Aitchison added.

"If you're using any kind of tech device while driving, you presumably have at least one hand off the wheel and your eyes are off the road. Those few seconds you're distracted are all it takes for a tragedy to occur, "said Mr Aitchison.

"If you need to use a GPS, input the data before to you start your journey, and if you need to edit the information en-route, pull over again. It is simply not worth taking the risk."


About the research
* Newspoll Market & Social Research conducted an independent internet survey of 3,706 Australian drivers, 18 years of age and older, across a full national sample in 2012. Data was collected in line with ISO 20252 – Market, Social and Opinion Research and has been weighted with current ABS population demographics to ensure any extrapolation of results is representative of age, gender and area.
^ AAMI asked its 45,000 Facebook fans whether they would be more likely to use/follow the directions of a SatNav if it issued directions in the voice of… Respondents were able to vote for pre-populated choices or add their own.