Survey Says You'll Save 4 Days Per Year When Using GPS

Own a personal navigation device? Use the GPS on your phone? If you're reading this now, the answer is probably "yes." If you're an avid navigation user, you probably understand the benefits quite well. Rather than having to write down directions to facilities, you simply find the address, plug it in and follow the kind lady on the other end. But have you ever wondered just how much time you save each year by following the GPS?

According to a new research study from NAVTEQ, the company responsible for the maps found on a whole slew of GPS devices, the average user can save around four days per year by using a navigation unit. Four days! The study focused on time savings based on the impact that the addition of real-time traffic has on the driver experience, and pointed to the use of traffic information as a primary influencer in time savings for the average driver.


The results are from a three pronged study conducted in two metropolitan areas of Germany: Dusseldorf and Munich, both of which see their fair share of automobile traffic. The research looked at drivers with and without GPS systems as well as drivers using navigation systems with real-time traffic. The study revealed that the drivers using traffic enabled navigation devices experienced dramatic time savings, spending 18% less time driving on an average trip versus drivers without navigation. When blown out for a full year, that amounts to around four days of savings, which certainly isn't anything to scoff at in the grand scheme of things.

Additionally, the findings show that drivers with real-time traffic experience reductions in distance traveled as well as increase fuel efficiency which would lead to a decrease in CO2 emissions per driver of .79 metric tons, or 21% less than a driver without a navigation system. The participants, who had not previously owned a navigation device, had their vehicles outfitted with a logging device which was used to track the route they drove and their driving speed. The study results reflect more than 2,100 individual trips, more than 20,000 kilometers and almost 500 hours on the road.


From our personal experiences, we can definitely say that GPS units have saved us a bundle of time on the road, and real-time traffic definitely keeps us away from those traffic jams whenever interstates get jammed up. Now though, we can definitely say that we'll be using our GPS units with time savings on the brain.