Irish roads fourth most dangerous in Europe, says study
Ireland has been ranked fourth in a league of EU holiday destinations with the most dangerous roads in terms of accidents and fatalities per kilometre.
The RAC study found Greece had the worst road safety record, followed by Portugal, Spain and Ireland.
RAC Foundation director Edmund King said: “We would not have expected Ireland to be up there.
“I mean obviously in Greece the road infrastructure is not particularly well developed, whereas Ireland, certainly in the last few years, a lot of money, a lot of European money, has gone into the road infrastructure and roads have been improved quite considerably.
“Hopefully in this year and the years to come the accident records will actually be reduced as a reflection of the improved infrastructure.”
But the RAC found Irish drivers were among the least aggressive motorists in the EU.
The study put French drivers at the top of road-rage league table, with 60% admitting to behaving aggressively towards other road users.
“When you ask people how they felt about other drivers, and whether they were annoyed by other drivers, Ireland came top of the league with 82% of respondents saying other drivers on the roads in Ireland annoyed them.
“So perhaps the other drivers don’t take it out in road rage in aggressive action but under their breath they are cursing the other drivers around them.”
Around 87% of British motorists admitted to being annoyed by other drivers. But only 55% of Belgian drivers admitted to getting angry behind the wheel.
German motorists were most likely to flash their headlights and tailgate when afflicted by road rage, while UK motorists resorted to hand signals.
Mr King said high holiday spirits mixed with poor local knowledge can turn trips abroad sour.
The RAC said people travelling abroad can reduce their risk of being involved in an accident by learning the driving rules in other countries.
Lower speed limits apply to inexperienced and young drivers in France, Portugal and Luxembourg and different limits apply to all drivers in wet weather in both Italy and France.
Most European countries insist motorists carry driving license and insurance documents in the car, and the alcohol limits can be stricter in different states.
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