Over half of British drivers own or use a sat-nav, but surprisingly only 1 in 8 trust it to take them to their destination, research by Manheim Auctions revealed. That’s because over a third of Brits have got completely lost whilst relying on their navigation system, with 15% missing an important event such as a job interview, wedding or first date.

Findings also showed sat-nav to be a source of aggravation for many drivers with 30% admitting it caused arguments with fellow passengers. The research follows the recent announcement that actor Brian Blessed will be the voice of all TomTom car navigation systems from October.

“The sat-nav has revolutionised the way we navigate from A to B and has quickly become the car navigation gadget of choice,” commented Craig Mailey, client services & marketing director, Manheim Auctions.

“However, it’s always wise to exercise a degree of caution when using one and not follow it blindly. Some destinations cannot be pinpointed exactly and we’ve all heard horror stories of people stuck in dangerous places because they’ve only paid attention to the voice and not the road around them.”

For more on vehicle telematics, come to the Fleet News telematics section.