25% of women too nervous to drive abroad

Men are significantly more confident at getting behind the wheel in right-hand drive countries and as many as one quarter of female motorists would give the task a wide birth altogether results of our new AA Travel Insurance reveal. 

The study which polled close to 10,000 motorists’ highlights a broad spectrum of confidence levels among Irish drivers when it comes to the task of driving abroad.  38% of those polled overall stated they wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the prospect with some individuals even saying they find it more natural to drive on the right-hand side of the road. 

Others we polled during our AA Travel Insurance survey admitted their confidence levels waiver between countries and between rural and urban areas.  France for example was cited on a number of occasions throughout the poll as one of the easier European destinations to adapt to driving in.  The quality of signage and behavior of local drivers were among the distinguishing factors identified in this regard. 

Our study also reveals that 15% of motorists overall would find the prospect of driving on the opposite side of the road very daunting with many stating they wouldn’t even try for fear they’d crash. 

A major gap in confidence levels was also indentified among genders.  44% of men said they’re totally comfortable driving on the right-hand side of the road compared to 25% of women.   The poll results do however suggest that despite their higher confidence levels men have a slightly higher accident rate when driving abroad than their female counterparts.  Overall 9% of those who indicated they have driven abroad within the last three years said they’d been involved in a tip or collision of some sort when driving overseas.

“The road layouts and manoeuvres motorists find most challenging when driving on the right-hand side of the road include roundabouts, T-junctions, pulling out of car parks or petrol stations and overtaking.”

Says Conor Faughnan, Director of Consumer Affairs, AA Ireland.  “There’s absolutely no reason anyone shouldn’t be able to drive abroad but it is important that drivers keep their wits about them when approaching some of the trickier road layouts.”  

Methods drivers shared they use to help acclimatize to driving on the right include practicing in a car park before driving out onto public roads, sticking initially to minor roads, switching their watch to their right wrist, putting a reminder sign on their steering wheel, asking their passenger to help and repeating the mantra “tight right, wide left to themselves.”

To help drivers adjust to driving on the right hand side of the road, AA Travel Insurance offers the following tips:

If bringing your own car remember to bring your driver’s license, original certificate of insurance, original vehicle registration cert and original vehicle registration cert.

• If driving a rental car practice somewhere quiet first such as a large car park to familiarise yourself with the left-hand drive layout of the interior of the car.
• Exercise extreme care when overtaking particularly if driving your own right-hand drive vehicle and ask a passenger to help you establish when it is safe to do so.  Also remember that the verge, rather than the middle of the road, should always be on your right.
• Remember that traffic on roundabouts goes counter clockwise.
• At junctions remember to look at the traffic lights on your right not the left.
• Be conscious that traffic turning left must cross oncoming traffic and that oncoming traffic will be coming from the left.
• Make a left turn by getting into as close as possible to the left-most lane, nearest the middle of the road (when oncoming traffic is immediately adjacent). Upon completing your turn, you will cross traffic going opposite your original direction. Make sure to finish up in the right half of any two-way road.
• To make a right hand turn stay tight to the curb, not crossing any traffic when completing your turn.
• Always check your mirrors for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
• Consider what you would do if your car breaks down while abroad.  It’s well worth considering breakdown cover such as AA European Breakdown Cover.  

 End

Notes to the editor;

Fig. 1 (A) How confident people who have driven on the right hand side while abroad said they felt while doing so (Based on a sample of 9757 people)

Fig. (B) How confident MALES polled who have driven on the right hand side while abroad said they felt while doing so (Based on a sample of 6,511 people )

Fig. (C) How confident FEMALES polled who have driven on the right hand side while abroad said they felt while doing so (Based on a sample of  people )

Fig. 2 Whether or not poll respondents have ever been involved in a crash while abroad.  (Based on a sample of 3,939 people who have driven abroad within the last 3 years)

B. Whether or not MALE poll respondents have ever been involved in a crash while abroad.  (Based on a sample of 2,639 people who have driven abroad within the last 3 years)

A. Whether or not FEMALE poll respondents have ever been involved in a crash while abroad. (Based on a sample of 1,195 females drivers who have driven abroad within the last 3 years)