A survey commissioned by Renault Australia has revealed that 83 per cent of Australian drivers find driving to work more stressful than being at work. This statistic rises to 90 per cent for those who commute more than one hour each day.

The Renault Latitude stress survey1 asked Australian drivers what elements outside and inside the car influenced their stress levels when driving.

“As expected the survey found the key causes of stress are traffic jams and gridlock (80%), drivers not indicating (73%) and parking in crowded car parks (53%). Other stressors included road noise (27%) and pedestrians and children around the car (34%),” said Chris Brown, Renault Marketing Director.

“However, interestingly 71 per cent of Australian drivers indicated that their stress levels can also be influenced by factors within the car.”

25 per cent of drivers say that the lack of interior space added to stress, 38 per cent of drivers say that sitting in an uncomfortable seat for long periods of time is stressful and 35 per cent agreed that pollution and bad odours filtering into the car contributed to stress levels.

According to the survey the key alleviators of stress inside a car included more space (16%), leather seats with massage capabilities (25%), an air management system with filters (24%), and a top quality audio system (25%).

To further test these findings, Renault conducted an experiment with three ordinary Australian families to see if the Latitude can help alleviate the stresses associated with driving.

The Latitude Stress Test used facial recognition software to determine the levels of stress the families experienced, via changes to their expressions, whilst driving their own car versus driving the Renault Latitude.

“The goal of the experiment was to put Latitude to the test to see how its features could make your drive more relaxing. It had the desired effect, with the families clearly more at ease in the Renault Latitude.” said Chris Brown.

To find out the results and watch the Latitude Stress Test visit http://www.stresstestdrive.com.au/

1 A nationally representative survey of 852 drivers in Australian capital cities.

The survey found that 74 per cent of all new car buyers regarded fuel efficiency as more important than high performance, which is understandable given the state of petrol prices across Australia. Women were seen as playing a key role in influencing the purchase of hybrid cars, particularly in high income households.

According to Roy Morgan Research, Hybrid car consideration levels have increased at around 8 per cent each year following the introduction of Hybrids into the market by Honda and Toyota in 2001.

Whilst you can expect to see hybrid sales increasing in the next few years, it’s doubtful you’ll see me behind the wheel of one until the manufacturers do something about the ugly body designs of their hybrid offerings. Hopefully a motoring executive high up the food chain comes to realize that environmentally friendly does not have to equal ugly!