UPTOURIST

If you’re planning a driving holiday in Europe, it’s useful to know in which countries it’s very safe to drive, and in which countries you may have to take even more care than usual. Mayday Vehicle Rentals have checked the statistics and here they break down the safest places to drive in Europe – and the most dangerous.

The safest roads in Europe

If you’re looking for the safest country in the EU in which to drive, then you should consider heading north to Sweden. Based on 2016 statistics from the European Commission Sweden had the lowest number of road deaths, with 27 fatalities per one million people. Another country in Scandinavia, Denmark, also made the top five – with 37 deaths per million.

Taking second place in the list was the United Kingdom, which ranked just below Sweden with 28 fatalities per million inhabitants. Other EU countries ranking near the top of the road safety list included the Netherlands (33 deaths per million), ever popular holiday destination Spain (37), Germany (39) and Ireland (40).

The most dangerous roads in Europe

Eastern Europe is a fantastic place to visit on holiday, with a variety of fascinating countries offering a wealth of culture, history and natural beauty. It can’t be denied however that driving in Eastern Europe is more dangerous than taking to the roads of the West.

The countries with the weakest road safety record in 2016, according to the European Commission, were all based in Eastern Europe. At the top of the list was Bulgaria with 99 fatalities per million inhabitants; Romania came second with 97 deaths and behind those countries were Latvia (80) and Poland (79).

On a more positive note, several countries in the region recorded the largest falls in fatalities between 2015 and 2016 – including Lithuania (a 22% decrease), Latvia (16%) and the Czech Republic (also 16%)

Europe is safe to drive

Despite roads in the East being more dangerous than those in the West, Europe overall is still a very safe place in which to drive. While the global road fatality average was 174 deaths per million in 2016, Europe’s average was only 50. Most European countries recorded a fatality rate of less than 80 – and not a single country had above 100.

Whichever country you choose for your holiday, we hope you have a safe trip to Europe and enjoy driving in our beautiful and fascinating continent!