So... which nation has the worst drivers

[Dandock]

As many will know we've just driven down to Spain and back and in doing so had to adapt to local driving habits. We were discussing this and were curious about relative road death rates. It turns out the Britain now lies in 4th place behind Switzerland (massive improvement) , Norway (very few cars) and one other that i can't remember. France and Spain were suprisingly about equal at well over double that of Britain. Portugal is still shockingly bad and US figures make the worst in Europe look modest!

We found the French had their own style but, in that, were consistent and predictable. The Spanish, however...! We didn't do that many miles in Spain, but in that short time we did have two near misses - carbon copies with oncoming cars overtaking on double whites well into bends.

So we asked ourselves 'from which nation are the worst drivers and why?'

[Ian.g]

Without any doubt at all, the worst driving I have ever experienced was in India. Or are you talking just about Europe? The death rate on Indian roads is massive - just watch the Top Gear India special from a few years ago to get a feel for it. Whatever you have experienced on your trip will pale into insignificance when compared to that. Fortunately I didn't actually have to drive myself anywhere!

[Tim92gts]

I've found French drivers much more polite than UK. They use indicators and don't sit in the outside lane on motorways.

It carries over to their respect for pedestrians too; apart from one coach driver who squashed me.

[Deleted User 1874]

China is a very scary place to drive. They seem to have little concept of the dangers involved and life is cheap there. When I was on the F1 circuit, it was the only place we weren't allowed to drive ourselves because of the high risk of an accident. We had to travel from hotel to track in a minibus driven by a local and that was scary enough. When the WRC guys used to go there they often ended up in serious RTAs, often involving pedestrians too.

I agree Spain is more dangerous than the UK too. But there is a lot less road rage as people don't tend to take it personally when they get cut up. It's kind of the norm to just barge your way along through traffic. Similar story in France too, especially in the big cities.

[Deleted User 1874]

It carries over to their respect for pedestrians too; apart from one coach driver who squashed me.

Not convinced about that. My wife commented last year about how French drivers seem to rarely stop at pedestrian crossings. I've tested that theory and tend to agree. Maybe their rules on right of way are different, but try standing next to a French pedestrian crossing and see if they stop for you to cross. Most plough on through unless you are already in the middle of the road. At least that was my experience around Nice.

[Dandock]

It carries over to their respect for pedestrians too; apart from one coach driver who squashed me.

Not convinced about that. My wife commented last year about how French drivers seem to rarely stop at pedestrian crossings. I've tested that theory and tend to agree. Maybe their rules on right of way are different, but try standing next to a French pedestrian crossing and see if they stop for you to cross. Most plough on through unless you are already in the middle of the road. At least that was my experience around Nice.

We found quite the reverse with drivers stopping at crossing almost in anticipation! Maybe there are regional characteristics?

[Frenchy]

well well interesting topic
when I came to London, many years ago, I thought there was only 1 single driving instructor throughout the UK as generally, Brits drive all the same way: slowly/sleepy, I mean in terms of reaction/decision behind the wheel - Sorry guys no offence .

Having said that, there are much more (fix) speed camera in UK than anywhere else in the world so I guess that's one of the reason.
I agree about the respect for Pedestrian crossing the road, UK is a reference and a great example of how it should be.
In Paris, you will put your life in danger every time you cross a road, even when the traffic light is RED, don t assume the car will stop.
I am proud to say, I stop at the pedestrian crossing now Am I getting more and more British ?

[Guy]

Have a look here: http://etsc.eu/euroadsafetydata/

I think I now understand why my insurance premium is so high!

[Col Lamb]

Have a look here: http://etsc.eu/euroadsafetydata/

I think I now understand why my insurance premium is so high!

Never trust statistics that cannot abbreviate correctly.

!!! .....deaths per min. inhabitants ......... WTF is a min. inhabitants?

[Guy]

It says 'mln' on my screen