As the weather in UK has been so poor for what is meant to be 'summer' you may be tempted to go on a road trip abroad. But make sure you research the driving laws and customs as the last thing you want is to get caught out in a foreign country. A study carried out by Rental Cars has shown our habits when travelling abroad.
Out of the 1,017 drivers asked 90% thought they knew the driving laws in France yet 31% didn't know you are required by law to carry a breathalyser. It's also worth noting it's illegal to use speed camera detectors, even those built in to sat navs. The same applies to the Republic of Ireland but just over half (53%) of those asked were aware of this law.
Those are quite standard laws but there are some unusual ones as well, for example in Italy you require a permit to drive through historic cities - 81% thought they knew the laws but only 38% knew of this law. Even weirder is the USA law that states you cannot ride a camel on a highway, I imagine that is a law that rarely needs to be enforced. Surprisingly 38% of those asked knew this, I'd like to know how they found that out.
Who are the safest drivers?
The Netherlands was described as the safest place to drive with 30% stating they felt the Dutch were safe drivers, America and the Republic of Ireland followed with respective percentages of 15% and 13%. Italy and France did not well with 4% of drivers asked stating those nations were safe drivers. Greece and Spain did marginally better with scores of 5% and 9% respectively whilst Portugal and Germany come mid-table with 11%.
Getting lost is the highest incident motorists experienced, 52% fell victim to that peril and as a result 33% needed to stop to gain directions. 31% state they drove over the speed limit - let's face it, it's probably more than that - and 27% drove on the wrong side of the road. Lastly, 24% of those asked said they had misunderstood road signs when travelling abroad.
But what about genders, how do they fare abroad?
Men 30% more likely to have to ask for directions than women - I find that one surprising to be honest
Men 40% more likely to drive on wrong side of road than women
Men 60% more likely to misunderstand road signs than women
Men 60% more likely to use wrong kind of petrol than women
Men 64% more likely to get a driving ticket than women
Women 13% more likely to exceed speed limit when abroad than men
So make sure you check before you travel.