A comparison of drivers and driving from the countries we visited (and drove in, usually).

Find out who is the worst of all, and that Italians ain't all that bad !

DISCLAIMER: I am, of course, going to upset a lot of people with this article, so I'll apologise in advance. I am, of course, generalising across entire populations, so it's up to you to decide if other opinions confirm my own or make a mockery of it.

Buckle up...

OK, let's get it over with. The French are streets ahead in terms of bad driving.

There, I said it. I'd better not tell you my registration number, or go to France again for a motoring holiday!

It's just that their attitude to driving seems suicidal. Maybe someone can enlighten me, but I genuinely believe that a French driver would rather smash into you than let you onto the Autoroute from the sliproad. Or is it that they just do that with the British/tourists in general?

I've driven 5-6000 kilometres in France, so this isn't a rash opinion. In fact, it got worse the more time went on. The first time I went to France, I felt I managed to drive a bit more like they did, and I was in a small car (a Peugeot 106). The last time (almost definitely!) was in a small MPV, so not quite so nippy. But I felt under attack.

The figures bear me out a little though. I haven't heard for a couple of years, but the Death Toll on French roads used to be about twice that of the UK. Around 10,000 a year. Now that's in a country with a similar population to the UK, but twice the area - so about half the traffic density. Quieter roads but many more deaths. Got to be bad driving hasn't it?

Pretty much the same as the French, but just occasionally a bit more relaxed. But don't expect a Spaniard to let you into a queue at some roadworks.

We'd heard scary things about Italy. Similar to those you hear about the Peripherique in France. Sadly, we didn't make it to Rome, but we did go back and to across northern Italy, and found the drivers to be much better than we'd been led to believe. Fast, yes, but in control, and without the French deathwish.

The only exception I would make is the truck drivers. I will never criticise a British trucker again (well, probably). The Italians change lanes with alarming suddenness which can scare you out of your wits at first, but once you are aware of it, you just give them a wide berth.

The Slip-Roads on the Autostrada are virtually non-existent. They are about 50 yards long if you're lucky, but then I guess that's in keeping with the normal method of driving - if you're not up to speed in 50 yards, you should be driving on the motorway anyway!

The AutoGrill service stations on the Autostrada are the finest around. The only trouble is that they could be a bit bigger, as they get extremely busy. But I think this means they are very popular, as the food looked superb and was reasonably priced. But of course, food is important to the Italians. Puts the UK to shame.

As expected, polite, efficient, organised.

A bit faster than I expected in some places, but at least the sliproads were long enough!

Most unusual thing I noticed was a distinct lack of warning signs on the approach to hairpin bends on some of the Alpine passes! Maybe they do that deliberately to make you drive a bit more circumspectly!

Didn't see a great deal of Germany - just the South West and the Schwarzwald.

The Autobahn running north was of a much poorer quality than I'd expected of German roads, quite bumpy and badly repaired.

The roads through the Black Forest though, were excellent.

I though the Germans were pretty much like the Swiss. Fast, in control, pretty safe.

Lower speed limits than anywhere else, but the cheapest fuel in Europe. So much so, that in the space of 100 yards near the border, there were at least 8 petrol stations where the fuel was about 20% cheaper than in neighbouring France or Germany.

Pity nobody had told me about this beforehand!

Totally different in Holland. Much more like the UK. Similar amount of roadworks as well!

Drivers were also more like the British, not quite as sensible as the Swiss or the Germans, or as aggressive as the French and Spanish.

We travelled around the "green belt" of Holland (so I was told) so encountered a lot of the tiny roads around the dykes. These were usually pretty quiet, but if something came the other way there was only just enough room on the road to get by one another.

Is this a ploy to make you slow down? It works!

We didn't drive in Asia. Didn't particularly want to, but foreigners aren't allowed to in China anyway. A good way to get around Beijing is on bicycle, but you need to be wary of the general disregard for the rules of the road.

There are no dirty cars in Japan. FACT. Well, I should say that I only visited Tokyo and Hiroshima, but the streets were spotless and so were the cars. Taxi drivers wear white gloves too, even if they don't speak any English!

Hong Kong. Don't.

Thailand. They drive on the left here, which helps. But even though I ride a 600cc motorbike in the UK, a 250cc Honda and 40mph around the streets of Patong was quite enough. They could be as bad as the French here - but through lack of awareness rather than aggression.

Singapore. This is more like it. Asian peoples, but more like Tokyo in appearance. Clean streets, clean cars. Very busy, but I don't think bad driving would go down well here. Taxi drivers could be a bit scary at times. Very friendly though.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised, but we were taken aback at first at how polite the Aussies are behind the wheel. If you're anywhere near the side of the road and look like you're about to cross (as a pedestrian, that is), they will stop and let you go on your way. Sometimes even when you wouldn't really think they had to.

And it was all over the place. Sydney, Surfers' Paradise, and all the towns up and down the East Coast.

The maximum speed limit anywhere is 110kph and it's fairly well enforced with patrols and radar. The road signs are prominent too - they educate their driver rather than patronise them, and the laid-back Aussies seem to go with it generally.

Big Surprise. Especially after the politeness of Australia.

We nearly got killed within the first hour of being in Christchurch, but it was the same all over the North and South Islands.

The New Zealanders are wonderful people, but put one behind the wheel of a car and they will not stop for anybody. The Aussie habit of letting pedestrians cross is simply not present here - dangerous when you've just spent 9 weeks there and just arrived in Godzone.

I had a peculiar feeling about the Kiwi drivers. It's only a hunch, but they behaved like they just hadn't been trained very well in the first place. It wasn't usually over-aggressiveness that caused problems, although that is an issue with quite a few of the younger drivers, but rather a hesitancy followed by a charge at a hazard that makes things worse. A kind of "Bull-at-a-gate" mentality.

There is also this crazy rule whereby you have to allow a car coming in the opposite direction, to turn across your path into a side road. Accidents waiting to happen if you ask me!

I found that the death toll on New Zealand roads was, per head of population 1.5 times that of the UK. That's quite scary for a country which includes the beautiful South Island where there is hardly any traffic. Maybe it all happens on the North Island where things are much more congested.

Just watch out when you cross the roads.

Oldest, Rattliest transport we saw, but we didn't drive.

We did see a nasty accident on the main highway though. Don't know what the statistics are here. They could be high or low because of the people's wonderful temperament.

Interesting.

I only drove here in an 8-ton, 32 foot Winnebago RV, which was quite a handful on the freeways around Los Angeles with only about a foot either side between you and the next RV, or Semi-trailer!

The speed limits are fairly low and are generally observed, and the Americans didn't seem to be too agressive. Mind you, I only drove in California and Nevada, so a fairly limited experience.

What I will say is that the state of the surfaces of the Freeways is appalling. I found it surprising that such a rich country spends so little on road repair. But again, maybe this varies a lot from state to state. Also, it may have something to do with the freeways being concrete, which is much harder to repair than tarmac. Obviously!