Driving down the damage

Does driving on the opposite side of the road send your head into a spin? Does the continual beeping of horns put you into a blind panic? And do you shout at your petrified passenger that the fact you have just bumped the car is not your fault, but the bad habits of the other people on the road? Well – you may just be right.

The innovative online car rental broker CarDelMar has revealed the worst holiday hotspots for travellers bumping their vehicles.

The definitive guide gives the low down on the top twenty worldwide destinations where the most damaged cars are returned.

Chile tops the poll as the country with the highest percentage of returned damaged cars – with more than 25 times the number of bumped and bashed vehicles than the USA.

Ireland ranks second place with 5.8 per cent of cars returned in a damaged condition followed by Costa Rica and Mexico.

The Spanish prove to be careful drivers with 99.5 per cent of cars returned in immaculate condition followed by safe driving Switzerland and Austria.

Carsten Greiner, managing director of CarDelMar, said: “Drivers are always very quick to blame the driving conditions of another country or the habits of another nationality – and perhaps our survey proves that some countries are worse to drive in than others.

“It is interesting that such a diverse mix of countries - Chile, Ireland, Costa Rica, Mexico and Belgium - have topped the polls with a much greater percentage of returned vehicles with damages.”

For more information, log on to Cardelmar.com.