Men are significantly more confident at getting behind the wheel in left-hand drive countries and as many as one quarter of female motorists would give the task a wide birth altogether results of a new study by AA Travel Insurance.

The study which polled close to 10,000 motorists highlights a broad spectrum of confidence levels among Irish drivers when it comes to the task of driving abroad.  38% of those polled overall stated they wouldn't bat an eyelid at the prospect with some individuals even saying they find it more natural to drive on the right-hand side of the road.

Others polled by AA Travel Insurance admitted their confidence levels waiver between countries and between rural and urban areas.  France for example was cited on a number of occasions throughout the poll as one of the easier European destinations to adapt to driving in.  The quality of signage and behavior of local drivers were among the distinguishing factors identified in this regard.

The study also reveals that 15% of motorists overall would find the prospect of driving on the opposite side of the road very daunting with many stating they wouldn't even try for fear they would crash.

A major gap in confidence levels was also identified among genders.  44% of men surveyed by AA Travel Insurance said they're totally comfortable driving on the right-hand side of the road compared to 25% of women.   The poll results do however suggest that despite their higher confidence levels men have a slightly higher accident rate when driving abroad than their female counterparts.  Overall 9% of those who indicated they have driven abroad within the last three years said they'd been involved in a tip or collision of some sort when driving overseas.

"The road layouts and manoeuvres motorists find most challenging when driving on the right-hand side of the road include roundabouts, T-junctions, pulling out of car parks or petrol stations and overtaking." Says Conor Faughnan, Director of Consumer Affairs, AA Ireland.  "There's absolutely no reason anyone shouldn't be able to drive abroad but it is important that drivers keep their wits about them when approaching some of the trickier road layouts."