The Pulse of the Driving Nation - Globe Drive Reveals Insights from Behind the Wheel
TORONTO, June 23 /CNW/ - Heading into the summer months, many Canadians pack up their cars and hit the road for road trips, family vacations and weekend getaways. Snacks and games for the car are all part of the must-have items. But what is the number one item Canadians cannot live without? The answer is: their GPS! According to a new poll by Globe Drive conducted by Harris/Decima, navigation systems (38%) followed by driving tunes (22%) are a necessity when the rubber hits the road.
Online at globedrive.com, columnist Peter Cheney reveals just how far Canadians are willing to go this summer in the name of a road trip. Reflecting on his real life examples of direction disasters, Cheney recounts his own road trips in preparation for the unofficial road trip weekend kick-off - Canada Day.
"Globe Drive gets behind what's really important to Canadian drivers," said Simon Beck, custom content manager for The Globe and Mail. "Road trips are tradition when it comes to Canadian summers, and whether behind the wheel, or going along for the ride, Canadians look forward to packing up the car and driving down the open road."
I can't drive without it:
When gearing up for road trips,
Canadian drivers reveal different must-haves in the car. According to
the survey, almost four in 10 Canadians (38%) cannot drive without their
GPS. In fact, Ontarians are most concerned about losing their way, with
nearly half (45%) admitting they won't start the car without this
device. Less than one-third (31%) of drivers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta worry about navigation. For drivers in Quebec, music is the
number one priority when planning a road trip. More than one-third (35%)
reveal driving tunes are the must-have in the car, versus a navigation
system (31%). The same is true among 18-24 year old drivers - almost
half (44%) rank driving tunes as the one item they cannot drive without.
Are we there yet?:
Drivers were also asked about the longest
distance they would travel when heading out on a driving vacation this
summer. One-quarter of Canadians (25%) said they would make the trek
from coast to coast. Another one-third (32%) said they would drive at
least one province away (32%). Almost three times as many drivers from
British Columbia (31%) are willing to travel coast to coast vs. those
from the Atlantic Provinces (12%).
The cost of driving:
Canadians seem to have adjusted to the
higher prices of gas at the pump. When asked what impact the cost of
fuel would have on their plans, half of drivers (49%) said there would
be no impact and they would not change their driving plans. Twice as
many Atlantic Canadians (30%) said they would choose a destination
closer to home, versus British Columbians (15%). Finally, women appear
to keep a closer tab on expenses, with more men (54%) than women (45%)
admitting the cost of fuel would not force them to change the driving
route this summer.
These results and more from The Globe and Mail's Pulse of the Driving Nation can be found online at globedrive.com or in paper in tomorrow's Globe Drive.
GlobeDrive.com features an expanded line-up of editorial and lifestyle content and explores topics, including: our relationships with our cars, family driving, car audio and electronics, green options, car tips, road trips and what the cars we drive say about us, to name just a few.
The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, is a division of CTVglobemedia, a dynamic multimedia company, which also owns CTV Inc., Canada's number-one private broadcaster.
About the survey
The data was gathered between March 31st through
April 5th, 2010 through Harris/Decima's weekly teleVox, the company's
national omnibus survey. A representative sample of 1,002 Canadians were
surveyed, of which 889 ever drive. The corresponding margin of error
this subgroup is ±3.3%, 19 times out of 20.
For further information:
or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Environics Communications
Jill Anzarut
416 969-2708
[email protected]
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