Two thirds of UK drivers don’t understand European road signs

Two thirds of UK drivers admit they don’t understand European road signs, new research has revealed. A survey of 2,000 UK motorists by dash cam manufacturer Nextbase found 65 per cent of respondents do not understand European road signs, in spite of the fact that 40 per cent have driven abroad.

Drivers were tested on the meaning of European road signs, with only two out of five signs being identified correctly on average. Three quarters of those tested did not recognise the sign that marks the end of speed restrictions on a German Autobahn, with many confusing it with the UK’s national speed limit sign.

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With 40 million Britons holding full UK driving licences, this equates to 18 million not being able to understand foreign road signs, which is particularly worrying during peak summer holiday season, when four million British motorists are expected to drive abroad.

Some 60 per cent of those surveyed said they had driven over 300 miles abroad – more than the distance between London and Paris – while around a quarter have covered at least 500 miles on foreign roads.

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More than a quarter of drivers surveyed admitted to having encountered a problem while driving abroad, such being involved in an accident. Over half of these incidents involved the police being called out, with more than a third of British drivers caught up in such instances saying they felt discriminated against for being foreign.

On this note, Nextbase pointed out that dash cams can help drivers prove their innocence in the event of a non-fault accident, although more than two-thirds of UK motorists have not yet adopted the technology.

Do you understand foreign road signs? Let us know in the comments section below...