Almost three-quarters (73%) of Brits feel intimidated when driving through Europe, a report suggests.
The research, conducted by car insurance website Confused.com, suggests that two-thirds of motorists are caught off-guard by unfamiliar laws and road signs when crossing the continent.
One worrying find shows that 25% of travellers don’t check if their car insurance covers continental travel before going abroad.
“Accidents can easily happen in an unfamiliar environment,” says Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com. “Reading up and making sure you’re completely covered for the country you’re driving in is just as important as getting the right currency.”
The fear of travelling abroad leads to 1 in 5 cross-country road trips ending in a road accident while two-thirds of motorists face other forms of car trouble.
Drink-driving laws alone cost many Brits their happy holidays while a further 19% of Britons admit to driving on the wrong side of the road.
It is suggested that standardising road laws across the Eurozone could help solve most of the problems.
Prof. Benjamin Heydecker explains: “England and Wales are the only two countries in the EU (other than Malta) that has a legal drink-driving limit above 50mg per 100ml.
“Harmonising Europe’s standards by reducing the limit to 50mg per 100 ml – which Scotland did recently – would modify drivers’ attitude to drink driving, with undisputed benefits for road safety.”
UK drivers may not know that in Sweden it is compulsory to have a shovel and antifreeze in the car at all times, or that drivers who wear glasses must carry a spare pair in Italy, or that in Spain handsfree kits a banned.
