Brits risk lives on foreign roads

Research published today indicates that two thirds of Britons driving abroad get into trouble on the roads.

This is according to a new report by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which claims a fifth of all British drivers abroad have narrowly escaped car accidents.

Most of the time, problems are merely just annoying, like getting lost in unfamiliar territory and not understanding how to extricate oneself from the situation.

However, sometimes British drivers get involved in more dangerous scenarios, with 31 per cent of respondents claiming to have accidentally driven on the wrong side of the road.

One in five have only just escaped car accidents by the narrowest of margins, while one in ten have actually ended up going the wrong way on a roundabout.

A few unlucky souls have had their valuables stolen following a theft or motorway mugging.

These scenarios are exacerbated by the fact Britons rarely have the correct documentation to hand in cases of emergency.

Of those who take their own car abroad, less than half remember to take their driving license and registration details with them too.

Only a third carry details of their breakdown policy and only 37 per cent check local driving laws in the region they will be staying.

Studies show tourists are three times as likely to be involved in road accidents than local drivers, with alcohol often acting as a contributory factor.

Some 78 per cent of people do not carry telephone numbers for local emergency services, breakdown services and the local British Consulate, leaving them unprepared in case of an emergency.