Posted on July 14, 2008 by Fiona Hilliard

One in four UK car hire drivers are oblivious to foreign road rules when driving abroad. 

A fifth of drivers also admit to driving on the ‘wrong side’ of the road and a further 20% say they are afraid while driving abroad. 

The poll of 1,021 people found that 38% of younger drivers (16-24) are ignorant of foreign road rules and one in ten say they take more risks when driving abroad. 

However 40% of British motorists say they find foreign drivers much worse than their UK contemporaries. 

The findings by Economy Car Hire are not gender specific either.  A quarter of women said they become anxious when driving abroad.  Only two percent of those surveyed found women to be more confident when driving abroad than men. 

This is despite the fact that women are proven to be more careful than men when driving abroad.  15% claimed to have driven on the ‘wrong side’ compared to 21% of men and none of the women surveyed had been arrested or fined for driving abroad compared with five percent of men. 

How Driving Abroad Differs:

• Many European countries require drivers needing glasses to carry a spare pair in the glove box – there are on the spot fines for those who don’t.
• Car Hire Spain: In Spanish residential areas there is a strict speed limit of 12mph.
• Car Hire Italy: On Italian motorways the speed limit id 80mph
• Car Hire Cyprus: In Cyprus the speed limit is 62mph.
• Car Hire Portugal: In Portugal if you have held your licence for less than 12 months, yo must not exceed 55mph.
• Car Hire Greece: In Greece, drivers can be fined for using their horn without good reason.
• Car Hire Croatia: It is completely illegal to drink and drive in Croatia.