What's the news?
Enterprise Rent-A-Car has carried out some research on holidaymakers renting cars (surprise, surprise, eh?) while they're away - and found that we Irish are the most likely to hire a motor for our vacation.
The Europe-wide survey found that 65 per cent of Irish people driving abroad this summer are likely to rent a vehicle, while the European average is 48 per cent. That makes us almost or more than twice as likely to rent a car than French (38 per cent) or German (30 per cent) motorists, and even more likely than people from countries like Spain (55 per cent) and the UK (60 per cent).
However, that overall 65 per cent figure might have something to do with precisely where we're driving, because most of the Irish people surveyed (43 per cent) said they were heading to the UK for their holidays - one of the very, very few countries across the continent that also drives on the left, like us.
After that, Spain (29 per cent), France (18 per cent), Portugal (12 per cent) and Italy (10 per cent) were the next most popular destinations where Irish holidaymakers were intending to drive, while 15 per cent of respondents to the survey here said they were planning to drive in the USA - along with our near neighbours in the UK, that's more than any other European country in the poll.
Despite all this, people travelling from here to other countries admit that driving abroad can be stressful, with the most worrying thing, apparently, being that we have to drive on the wrong side of the road in most countries (39 per cent - perhaps why the UK is our preferred motoring holiday destination), followed by not knowing local rules and regulations (20 per cent), not being able to read or understand local road signs (25 per cent) and foreign drivers (24 per cent).
Nevertheless, with just 22 per cent of Irish survey respondents saying they do not find driving abroad stressful, we're more chilled out about the prospect of some overseas motoring than people in Spain (just 10 per cent), but considerably more het up about it than drivers in the UK (32 per cent) and Germany (28 per cent).
Finally, on average, holidaymakers from our shores will cover around 612km while abroad - the lowest figure of all nationalities surveyed. UK drivers top this chart, with 943km on average, with Germans (885km), the French (854km) and the Spanish (777km) following close behind.
Anything else?
George O'Connor, managing director of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Ireland, said: "The fact that we are an island nation means that renting a car abroad is a much more attractive prospect for most Irish holidaymakers compared to our mainland European counterparts.
"However, the survey also underlines how stressful and challenging it can be to drive in a foreign country. To reduce the stress factor, we recommend that anyone renting a car abroad does their homework on local rules, logistics and directions, and also that they take the time to familiarise themselves with their rental vehicle before setting off."
And, luckily, Enterprise has just what you need for that. Country by country driving tips for Irish tourists can be found here on the Enterprise Ireland website.