Culture Clash

The number of road accidents caused by foreign drivers in the UK and Brits abroad is going up each year.

As travel around the EU becomes much more common, for business and pleasure, so does the number of road accidents, according to a recent report from the Association of British Insurers.

In the UK, European drivers cause over 18,000 collisions a year. Heavy goods vehicles from Europe are 3 times more likely to have an accident in the UK than their British counterparts.

British drivers caused well over 5,000 accidents in Europe last year.

The ABI report gave these proposals to ensure all Europeans can drive safely within the EU:

The UK Government should measure the numbers of foreign drivers in the UK. UK road law information should be made available as motorists enter the UK. The European Commission should study the new driver testing and vehicle standard requirements across the EU and how they relate to accident rates. The study may show that a minimum EU driving standard is required. The government should ensure that all HGVs are equipped to deal with ‘blind spots’. The UK authorities should monitor foreign vehicles kept in the UK for over six months without being registered here. Imported vehicles not either re-registered or returning for servicing at home, may be without MOTs and insurance. There are 45 differences in national road laws within the EU. These include:

January 24^th 2008