Report: GPS real-time traffic could cut four days off your annual commute

Sitting in traffic on Interstate 80 every morning is no one's idea of a picnic, and yet the daily commute remains a tragic reality for the bulk of the American workforce.

What if I told you there was a way to trim enough time off your commute to get back four days of your life every year? No, put your purse away... I'm not quite finished.

That insane statistic arrives courtesy of GPS-data provider NAVTEQ, which says that drivers who use a GPS device that incorporates real-time traffic updates can shave immense amounts off their drive time every year. In the US, 4 days worth of driving per year; in the UK, a mere 2 1/2 days. Either way, that represents about an 18 percent reduction in the amount of time spent behind the wheel, a phenomenal savings.

There's even a green angle: In both countries, NAVTEQ says drivers using traffic-ready GPS units can reduce their carbon emissions by about 20 percent.

The study was performed in Germany and included drivers with no GPS, with a standard GPS unit, and with a traffic-enabled GPS unit. Ultimately it found that the drivers using the traffic-enabled GPS were able to far more effectively route around backups. But what's more surprising is that these drivers didn't just spend less time on the road, they also traveled a shorter overall distance than drivers without a navigation system.

Assuming the figures are even in the ballpark (and considering the source of the study, you're of course right to be a little skeptical), it might make sense to think about upgrading your GPS to one that includes traffic reports. And in fact, GPS systems with traffic updates are commonplace now. One blog found a traffic-ready model for as little as $200 -- but remember that, for most GPS models, you have to pay extra for traffic updates to be delivered to the device after an initial trial period. (In the case of the Garmin mentioned in the linked story, traffic updates cost $50 a year or $130 for lifetime updates.)

Now hit the road, folks!

Via Daily Fuel Economy Tip.