One of Europe’s worst countries for car crashes is a beautiful holiday spot

Driving in a different country can be a very daunting prospect.

So perhaps it’s wise to bear in mind that not only might there be a different side of the road to drive on and crucial road signage in a totally different language – but also a poor safety record on the roads.

A new list has revealed the most dangerous countries to drive in across Europe – and four of them are very popular tourist destinations – with British holidaymaker’s favourite Portugal coming in at number five.

But there are other tourism hotspots on the list too including Croatia in fourth place, Greece in sixth place and Italy in tenth place.

The survey by Vignetteswitzerland.com analysed data from the European Transport Safety Council to find out which countries have the highest road deaths per million inhabitants.

Below we reveal the full list of the most dangerous European countries to drive in according to the 2022 figures, which are the latest figures available.

M E Wijnmalen, CEO of Vignetteswitzerland.com said: “With how connected Europe is, and how easy it is to travel from one country into another, it’s important to keep knowledge of the driving conditions in each country you travel to. 

“Many factors can affect these conditions, such as road quality, driving laws or even changes in speed limits that can influence the risk you run of simply just being on the road.” 

Listed beside the countries are the number of deaths per million residents.

1. Romania (85.81)

2. Serbia (82.65)

3. Bulgaria (77.64)

4. Croatia (71.20)

5. Portugal (62.30)

6. Greece (60.71)

7. Latvia (60.24)

8. Luxembourg (55.78)

9. Hungary (55.22)

10. Italy (53.70)

Meanwhile, new research has revealed the UK’s most dangerous areas to drive in outside of London, with Blackpool coming out on top.

The study by car parts marketplace Ovoko looked at data from areas in the UK to find out which had the highest average collisions per billion vehicle miles between 2013 and 2022.

It found that Blackpool is the UK’s most dangerous area to drive outside of London. Between 2013 and 2022, there were, on average, 1,076.85 collisions per billion vehicle miles in the area.