Are business travellers less responsible than the average when it comes to driving in a foreign country? In any case, this is the problem highlighted by a study published this summer by Enterprise, the vehicle rental company, which even refers to them as "bad drivers". To back up its claim, Enterprise Rent-A-Car relies on a survey carried out last April by the Research Now Institute among more than 4,500 drivers in Europe, and some 1,000 French drivers planning to drive abroad during the summer.
The result is a blatant ignorance of the rules in force abroad. For example, 20% of business travellers would not know whether speed limits are indicated in kilometres or miles per hour depending on the country they are in. Moreover, barely two out of five business travellers find out about local road safety rules before their trip. The lack of preparation on the part of business travellers even raises a smile when you read some of the points made in the study: "Of the 70% who say they prepare before having to drive abroad for work, one in two say this involves taking their sunglasses with them (50%)", for example, says the press release...
More worryingly, 50% of travellers who have already driven abroad have already been penalised for a road traffic offence, and more than half of drivers (56%) have been involved in at least one incident. Almost two out of ten travellers (16%) even admit to having driven on the wrong side of the road.
Lack of preparation for the trip is not the only risk factor, as the bad practices of business travellers are also singled out by this study. In fact, 27% of those surveyed had already used their phone at the wheel without a hands-free kit, 20% had written an SMS while driving, and one driver in ten had even sent e-mails...
