Driven To Distraction - How Safe Is Your Satnav?

The rapid expansion of in-car satellite navigation technology has been a boon to most drivers, and is far safer than trying to read the a map whilest driving.

But is there a risk of satnav replacing the driver’s own commonsense and instincts? Has the satnav revolution turned drivers into obedient zombies? Are traditional navigation skills being lost? Andwhat is the satnav industry itself doing to ensure that systems are safe to use, today and in the future?

While we believe that there is a net benefit from using satnav, there and industry is already working on next-generation devices and applications.

To find out where the industry is going, you need to find your way to:

Driven To Distraction? – A one-day seminar hosted by the Royal Institute of Navigation. 26 June, 9.30-4.30

The RIN and Location & Timing Knowledge Transfer Network are bringing experts together from across the industry to answer key questions about the role and the implementation of in-car satnav systems in the 21st century.

Find out:

• Why satnav development and safety is a vital 21st century political issue in a talk by The Right Honourable Owen Paterson MP, Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport
• What the satnav customer really wants – and needs – in a presentation from Sheila Rainger from the RAC Foundation
• How to avoid deskilling the driver by listening to the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ Peter Rodger
• How well – or poorly – current satnav systems actually work, according to David Evans of Which?
• The latest news on the Department for Transport consultation on In-Vehicle Information Systems from Alan Stevens of the Transport Research Laboratory
• Best practice for satnav installation from Tracy Ross of the Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute
• The role of the mapping company in providing up-to-date maps for satnavs, by Tom Satterthwaite of Ordnance Survey and Andy Regan of ESRI Ltd.
• Improved route finding techniques from Camvit
• The need for cross-industry co-operation to ensure the future safety of satnav technology, and more.

Attendance is free to the media, but please contact RIN Press Officer Tony Fyler to confirm, or arrange specific interviews.