New study ranks Romania as most dangerous EU country to rent a car

A new study by Go Voyager has ranked Romania as the most dangerous country in the European Union (EU) to rent a car, mainly due to its poor road infrastructure, which translates into higher risks of getting into a car accident. On the opposite end, France ranks as the best country for car rentals due to its high road quality and efficient infrastructure.

In the Go Voyager ranking, France leads with a road quality index of 6.18, closely followed by the Netherlands at 6.15. Romania trails with the lowest index at 2.96, highlighting poor condition and outdated infrastructure of the roads, which may affect the mobility of travelers.

Romania also has the lowest mean speed score of 73, reducing the possibility for visitors to travel within a country efficiently due to intense traffic and poor road conditions. Portugal demonstrates superior road efficiency and connectivity with a top score of 106.

Moreover, the high fatality rate of 81.1 per 1 million inhabitants proves the reckless driving behavior of local drivers in Romania, study authors said. Also, the roughly 2,900 road accidents per 1 million inhabitants in the country prove poor traffic regulations enforcement of local drivers and intense traffic density caused by the dire condition of the public roads.

“When I saw the results of our meticulous research, I was stunned, but simultaneously, I understood the reason why these countries are ranked so. The current challenges in EU car rental safety can be attributed to several key factors: infrastructure disparities, varying regulatory standards, and economic factors,” commented Daniil Shvartsman, CEO of Go Voyager.

“Looking at the broader perspective, we encourage to standardise EU rental regulations by implementing uniform safety standards and inspection requirements across all member states. Furthermore, we suggest installing real-time safety monitoring systems to alert renters about potential safety issues or dangerous conditions. We believe that these improvements would complement the existing safety tips while addressing the root causes of current safety concerns,” he added.

The study ranks the countries based on various statistical data related to road safety, infrastructure efficiency, and car rental possibilities.

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