Britons believe they are Europe's best drivers

But 84% get lost on an average journey

11 June 2007 16:56 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Palm is offering a free TomTom Navigator 6 GPS Package for all customers purchasing Palm Treo smartphones until July 27th and to back up this offer has commissioned a survey to see just how badly Britons might need some satnav back up.

84% of the British motorists who responded claim they typically get lost on an average journey and 50% of respondents would rather continue trying to find their way when lost, rather than swallowing their pride, and stopping to ask someone for directions.

Other results in the survey showed that despite being lost quite often, Britons believe they are Europe's best drivers, more than seven out of ten of the 1000 Britons surveyed believed that they were the "masters of the motorway", and also considered themselves better drivers than their European neighbours in France, Spain and Italy.

The Palm survey also looked at which celebrities' dulcet tones respondents would most like to hear helping them on their way, and which regional accent was considered most desirable.

The voice of Homer Simpson topped the poll, with Terry Wogan a close second. Sean Connery and George Clooney also featured in the top ten, along with Peter Kay and Joanna Lumley.

When asked to consider the many accents of the British Isles, the Queen's English of the south east and Home Counties proved top of the satnav voiceover pops, receiving more than a quarter of all votes.

In second place was the Scottish accent (14%), with Irish and Welsh level-pegging at 9%. Unfortunately for the Midlands, the Brummie accent was picked by the lowest number of respondents, with only 2% of those surveyed claiming they'd like to be directed to their destination with a Brummie twang.

When asked for their views on GPS or satellite navigation systems, the survey revealed that eight out of ten people believe that they improve the travel experience.

Further information about the free TomTom satnav offer is available via the link below.

Full tags

Car And GPS, Mobile phones, Palm, TomTom, Surveys, GPS