A similar number said Italian drivers are the worst on the continent

More than a third of those polled named German drivers the best in Europe

Germans are Europe’s best drivers and Italians are the worst – at least in the minds of their British counterparts.

With a busy summer travel season ahead, more than a third of Britons (37 per cent) believe German drivers are the best on the roads, according to a recent survey.

Of those polled, 32 per cent said German motorists’ ability to abide by the rules of the road makes them stand out.

More than a third of those polled said they consider German drivers to be the best in Europe

And while they admire their driving habits, almost half of 2,000 respondents (44 per cent) feel that Germans are Europe’s fastest drivers.

That may be due to the fact that Germans get plenty of time to drive fast on the country’s Autobahn motorways, where some stretches have no speed limits for cars.

While Germans can celebrate being named No 1, Britons have crowned Italians as Europe’s worst drivers, according to the Green Flag study of UK drivers’ habits and opinions.

More than a third (37 per cent) of respondents said Italians aren’t up to scratch behind the wheel.

Thirty-nine per cent said they feel Italian drivers are most likely to break the rules of the road.

Meanwhile, the survey named France as the best place to enjoy a driving holiday – with almost half of British tourists (46 per cent) saying it would be their first choice.

Neighbouring Belgium ranked at the bottom, with just five per cent of respondents wanting to go on a driving holiday there.

When Britons do drive abroad, it appears language differences (38 per cent), different road rules and regulations (37 per cent) and driving on the ‘wrong side’ of the road (30 per cent) are the biggest challenges.