Survey Reveals That Minneapolis is a City of “Courageous Commuters”

CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Although Minneapolitans are more likely to miss their exits than drivers in any other city, many (50.2 percent) tend to make up for lost time by traveling on less crowded back roads during rush hour, according to a recent survey that revealed the city’s “driving personality.” The seven city survey was conducted by Concord-based TomTom Inc., the world’s leading provider of navigation solutions and digital maps.

“Through TomTom’s Driving Personality Survey, we are able to see how each city’s ‘driving personality’ directly relates to its unique lifestyle, landscape and culture.”

Since Minneapolis residents are particularly concerned with saving travel time, it comes as no surprise that 42 percent, the highest percentage of cities surveyed, wouldn’t consider driving more than 20 minutes for a work commute. Additionally, Minneapolitans reported using their GPS to save time, more often than drivers from any other city surveyed. What en route experience annoys Minneapolis drivers the most? Topping the list is running out of gas, being tailgated and of course, slow drivers. Whether they are heading to the Mall of America or simply navigating around one of Minneapolis’ many lakes, time-conscious Minneapolitans have certainly earned the title of “Courageous Commuter.”

Cities surveyed fell into three different “driving personality” categories:

Diligent Driver – Extremely conscientious drivers who consistently stick to the rules of the road

Neutral Navigator – A milder breed of drivers who take a steady, “middle-of-the-road” approach to driving and typically go with the flow

Courageous Commuter – Bold drivers who do what it takes to overcome the obstacles and complexities of daily driving

Minneapolis was one of seven major U.S. cities to be surveyed on a number of typical driving scenarios to determine its unique reactions and distinct driving style. Some interesting results follow.

Minneapolis had solid scores when it came to courageous commuting:

63.9% Use their cars to commute to/from work		High Score: Atlanta, 64.2%
55.6% Drive five to 10 miles over the speed limit		High Score: Atlanta, 66.2%
18% Slam on the breaks or slow down, if being tailgated		High Score: Atlanta, 26.4%
60.5% Fill up their gas tank when they have a quarter of a tank left		High Score: Houston, 64.4%
71.2% Change their route depending on time of day		High Score: Los Angeles, 78.3%

“As Americans spend more and more of their time on the road, driving personalities naturally emerge,” said Kendra Thornton, Travel Expert and Industry Publicist. “Through TomTom’s Driving Personality Survey, we are able to see how each city’s ‘driving personality’ directly relates to its unique lifestyle, landscape and culture.”

Over 55 percent of Minneapolitans admitted to driving five to 10 miles over the speed limit in order to reach their destinations. One Courageous Commuter, eager to reach his destination, left his suitcase on his roof; he discovered his mistake just in time to watch his clothes flying in the air as he drove away.

The seven cities surveyed include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York.

IQ Routes is of particular importance to Courageous Commuters, as they are especially concerned with saving on travel time. TomTom IQ Routes™ Technology uses historical travel time information to automatically provide users with the most reliable travel and arrival times on their navigation device. The most efficient route is calculated for the particular moment that drivers plug their destination into the device.

Readers can discover their own driving personality, by taking TomTom’s short quiz, at http://www.survey.com/tomtom.

Digital press materials:

For digital press materials, photos and videos, visit the Press Extranet: http://extranet.tomtom.com. Username: uspress-tt, password: TomTom

Follow and share with TomTom on:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/clubtomtom

YouTube: http://youtube.com/clubtomtom

About TomTom

TomTom NV is the world’s leading provider of navigation solutions and digital maps. TomTom NV has over 3,300 employees working in four business units – TomTom, Tele Atlas, AUTO and WORK.

TomTom's products are developed with an emphasis on innovation, quality, ease of use, safety and value. TomTom's products include all-in-one navigation devices which enable customers to navigate right out of the box; these are the award-winning TomTom GO family, the TomTom XL and TomTom ONE ranges and the TomTom RIDER. Additionally, independent research proves that TomTom products have a significant positive effect on driving and road safety.

Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers digital map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The AUTO business unit develops and sells navigation systems and services to car manufacturers and OEMs. WORK combines industry leading communication and smart navigation technology with leading edge tracking and tracing expertise.

TomTom NV was founded in 1991 in Amsterdam and has offices in Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. TomTom is listed at Euronext Amsterdam in The Netherlands. For more information, go to www.tomtom.com.