Buyers have been advised to educate their travellers when driving abroad as research reveals many don’t know basic road laws across Europe.
The study from Enterprise Rent-a-car of 556 business travellers found a third don’t know what emergency number to use in case of accidents and one in four don’t know what equipment they’re required to keep in the vehicle.
It found almost half (46%) don’t know when they legally can and cannot use their horn and around a third (31%) are unclear about alcohol limits or even if there is a complete ban on drinking and driving. A fifth of business travellers are also not aware if speed limits are displayed in kilometres or miles per hour.
The research also found that more than one in four business travellers (27%) has used a phone without a hands-free kit while driving, one in five (20%) has written a text message and one in 10 admitted to sending emails while behind the wheel.
Enterprise rent-a-car Rob Ingram said: “The research shows that some business travellers could make foreign driving trips safer by investing more time preparing for overseas driving – and decrease the likelihood of being penalised for falling foul of the local driving laws.”
When asked about whether they had been penalised when driving abroad, it showed half had been penalised for at least one traffic offence and 56 per cent had been involved in a minor accident.
The most common fines were for speeding (27%) and parking tickets (21%), but they were also penalised for using a horn (4%) overtaking in the wrong area (5%) and making an illegal turn (4%).
Ingram added: “While three quarters of drivers (79%) say they plan to travel abroad and hire a car, many take their own vehicle. Whichever option they choose, people need to make sure they’re comfortable not just with the car they hire, but also with the traffic laws of their destination and its unfamiliar road markings and signs.”
Sign up to BBT’s twice-weekly newsletter