August 2007

Download PDF

Download Word doc

Email

Print

Driving abroad at home? Motoring in UK is safer than in Europe

- European roads not as safe as UK equivalent
- Newer EU member states have worst driving records
- Harmonising EU driving standards would improve safety records, but 40 per cent of Brits do not think it will benefit UK drivers1

With millions of Brits getting behind the wheel on the continent this summer, MORE TH>N is warning that motoring in Europe is more dangerous than driving at home, following a major new report conducted by the insurer with Brunel University.

The study – completed in advance of the planned harmonisation of driving standards across the EU in 2013 – looked into driving on the continent, with findings based on attitudes to safety, drink-driving and motoring offences in 27 European countries.

Despite having some of the least stringent test criteria, British highways and byways are among the safest roads, ranking sixth for overall road safety, behind only Malta, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway. As such, MORE TH>N is urging Brits abroad to be extra vigilant when driving, as car-culture overseas can often fall short of the relatively high standards enjoyed at home.

The study also revealed that those countries traditionally believed to be most dangerous are no longer the ones to avoid. In fact, while a third of Brits thought Italy would have the worst standards, and one in five maligned the long suffering French, it is newer EU member states that pose the biggest dangers. Poland and Greece are also riskier, with almost treble the number of road fatalities of the UK.

Conversely, more than one in three Brits think that the Germans – with their super fast Autobahns and well engineered cars – have the safest driving standards, although they actually rank eighth overall. Interestingly, only 3 per cent were correct in thinking that Malta has the best safety record.

European league table of driving safety – Fatalities per 1,000,000 inhabitants 2

Dr Mark Young of the Brunel University Ergonomics Research Group commented: “While measures have been put in place to improve road safety across Europe, in most cases the improvements have reached a plateau. Clearly, new measures are needed to put us back on track, and in 2002 the EU set a clear and challenging target of reducing deaths and serious injuries by 50 per cent before 2010. In order to achieve this goal initiatives are already underway to harmonise legislation, but there is clearly more that needs to be done to improve road safety across European roads.”

Despite its impending arrival, only just over one in ten Brits (13 per cent) are actually aware of the move to harmonise EU licensing3, which will see standardised driving laws rolled out across all member states. Of those aware of the plans, 40 per cent do not think EU licensing harmonisation will actually benefit UK drivers, while one in seven believe it will actually make standards worse. Only 16 per cent believe the change will improve standards in other EU countries.

Mike Holliday-Williams, managing director at MORE TH>N, commented:
“Our report has confirmed perceptions that Brits are some of the safest drivers in Europe. However, British motorists can ill afford to be complacent when driving abroad, especially in countries that have only recently gained membership to the EU.

“But while we do have a good safety record there are many initiatives that have been introduced in other countries that could, in fact, help make Brits even safer drivers under the new EU harmonised legislation.”

SHARE THIS ARTICLE: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?