Brits prefer driving abroad

BRITISH DRIVERS say they would rather drive abroad than in the UK because continental roads are less congested and in better repair. The lower price of fuel in continental Europe also attracts British drivers.

Every year, 4.2 million British drivers head to Europe and research by the RAC shows the UK ranks only 24th when it comes to the quality of its roads. Countries such as France, Spain and Portugal all rate more highly than our domestic road network.

The lack of potholes and good state of European roads was the number one favourite element of European roads with British drivers. This was followed by the lower cost of fuel.

In its study, the RAC also revealed that 84% of drivers in the UK think the state of repair of British roads is getting worse and 75% think motorways in the UK are noticeable worse.

RAC technical director David Bizley said: ‘With continental Europe right on our doorstep it’s understandable that so many of us pack up the car and head overseas to explore every year taking an average of 15 hours to get to their destination.

‘It is, however, surprising that the quality of European roads has such a dramatic impact on the overall enjoyment of the driving experience abroad. It proves the UK’s road network has much to live up to, particularly compared to countries such as France which has built more than 2,700 miles of new motorway since 1990 – more than the entire UK motorway network put together.’

By Press Association reporters