If you use a GPS or satellite navigation device in your car, then ou may be doing your bit for the environment without even knowing it. Recent independent research shows that car drivers who use a GPS product have a more positive effect on the environment when compared to a driver who does not. The research was conducted using drivers who partake in daily car activities that are popular, for example, taking the kids to school, going shopping every week, and commuting to and from work.
The top-line findings found that by using a GPS the driver will reduce the time and hours spent behind the wheel as well as fuel consumption costs – which lead naturally onto a reduction in CO2 and the amount they spend annually running their motor vehicle. Here’s an overview of the research, followed by details on how the study was conducted.
Figures Related to a Driver Using a GPS Device
They will drives shorter distances and journeys- They will spend less time driving and behind the wheel
- They will drive 2,500 km less on average each year
- Fuel efficiency will be increased by a factor of nearly twelve per cent
- Fuel consumption will then reduce from an average high of 8.3 to 7.3 liters every 100 km
- This results in an increased fuel economy rating of.91 metric tonnes in CO2 per person
- This equates to a 25% decrease when compared to drivers without a GPS
Why Does this Happen Though?
The research was conducted in the Munich and Dusseldorf cities in Germany. Germany was the choice for research because the region has a complex road network with many variants on it, and German drivers are more likely to own GPS devices. The study group was segmented into three distinct groups as follows:
- Drivers that used a GPS that included Real Time Traffic functionality to help them to avoid traffic jams and be automatically suggested alternative routes by the device.
- Drivers that used a GPS that did not come with Real Time Traffic alerts.
- Drivers that relied on street knowledge and instinct to navigate rather than using a GPS unit.
In order to get results to calculate, each vehicle had a tracking device fitted to it which recorded the routes travelled and also noted driving styles of the driver – for example their speeds.
Over two thousand car journeys were recorded which equated to twenty thousand kilometers of road distance driven, over the course of five hundred in-car driving hours.
About the Author
This information was compiled from online resources by the Honda fans who run some of the leading online fan’s forums and ‘how to’ websites. If you are a driver and want to make sure you get the most from your GPS and also reduce your carbon footprint then you could look into updating your maps so that they are accurate. For example, if you drive an Accord or Civic in the US then you can buy Honda GPS Updates online that include any changes that have happened on that nation’s roads.
