Half of motorists have argued over map reading

As the annual summer getaway looms, stress levels in cars are set to rise with over half of adults who take journeys in cars that require map reading claiming to have had an argument with a fellow traveller over map reading.

A recent online survey carried out for AA Atlases by YouGov*, found 53% of people have argued over map reading with 45 to 54 year olds being the most argumentative (60%).

Who's the best?

It is no wonder that arguments occur, as when people were asked who was the best at map reading, three quarters (75%) of men claimed it was them, while just over 40 per cent of women believed they were the best in their family at map reading.

While almost one third of women (32%) were able to admit that it was their male partner who was the better map reader in their family, only seven per cent of men acknowledged their female partners' superior navigation skills.

Although we live in an age of technology, over three quarters (77%) still own a UK road atlas while just over a third of people (35%) now use sat navs most often to plan their routes.

Comment

David Watchus, manager of AA Publishing, said, "Navigating always has the potential to cause flare ups on any journey. The real key is to plan the route carefully before leaving home. However, many problems occur if a detour is required and you have to rely on an old road atlas. Having an up to date atlas in your car can make for a much smoother journey all round."

AA road atlases

The new 2011 AA Road Atlas range includes seven varieties with differing scales, size and bindings all fully revised and updated for 2011. Each atlas contains information on National Trust, English and World Heritage sites and static speed camera locations.

In addition there are also three atlases for Europe covering over 40 countries and with map symbols represented in ten European languages.

The new range of 2011 AA Atlases is available at theaa.com/shop.

* All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2107 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 29 June and 1 July 2010. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).