Vehicle Rental And Driving
Des Conway has over 20 years' experience in police and commercial security. He uses his additional research and commercial security experience to ensure his own and his family's safety while planning and taking holiday and business trips. Through this and his other security handbooks he is committed to helping people keep themselves and their loved ones safe, wherever they are.
Vehicle Rental and Driving
Driving abroad can be a risky undertaking because of the differences between driving in the UK and driving in other countries. As an indication of the differences you can experience, I have listed a few that I have encountered below. Read them and accept the fact that driving abroad can make you subject to hundreds of new and unknown threats and risks.
Throughout the world the collection of accident statistics varies from the almost obsessively accurate to the casually indifferent. Some broad accident statistics were collected and the results may surprise you. By mode of transport, from most to least dangerous, the results showed:
- Minibuses (most dangerous – highest fatalities and injuries)
- Motorcycle
- Bicycle
- Walking
- Car
- Aircraft
- Scheduled bus service
- Train (least dangerous – lowest fatalities and injuries)
In developing countries and some popular holiday destinations where the weather is warm and the alcohol is cheap, the risk of dying in a minibus or motorbike accident is said to be up to 15 times higher than in the UK.
A UK report stated that flying is 15 times safer than car travel, 176 times safer than walking and 300 times safer than riding a motorcycle – and that is in the UK!
The only lesson I would draw from these statistics is that drink, drugs, carelessness, vehicle condition, lack of a helmet, not wearing a seatbelt and unfamiliarity with foreign roads and driving laws can kill you. Whichever mode of transport you use, be sensible and take care!
Vehicle rental – countermeasures
If you want to drive, or might want to drive, make sure that you take your driving licence with you. I have always had to present a full UK driving licence to hire a car.
When paying for a hire car, be very wary about allowing the company to take a credit card deposit. Don’t sign a blank receipt, no matter how much they claim it is standard practice. I have heard a lot of stories of fraud and abuse of credit card accounts associated with vehicle rentals in tourist areas. Unfortunately the victim doesn’t find out until their statement reaches them a month or so after they get back from holiday. Use the larger international vehicle rental companies, or book and pay for your hire car through your travel agent before you leave the UK. It may cost a little more but the peace of mind is worth it.
Make sure that your insurance is adequate. Clarify and confirm what is and is not covered with the travel agent. Arrange it all in advance so that there is no rush with the possibility of things being missed. Carry all of the papers to prove that you are insured, as well as a list of who to contact if there is a problem.
Check the condition of your hire car. Some backstreet companies run cars that would be on the scrap heap in the UK. Use a reputable vehicle hire company which operates relatively new vehicles.
Always inspect the vehicle the company wants to rent to you before signing the papers. I once booked a ‘medium family saloon (make and model depending on availability)’, but on arrival found I was being given a Ford Anglia. To be fair to the rental company, compared to most other cars on the road there at the time, that was a modern family saloon! I declined the offer, the rust and apparent lack of attention under the bonnet and around the wheels leading me to believe that no mechanic had touched it since it left the factory.
Make sure you know which side of the road to ‘officially’ drive on. In some places meeting another vehicle is so rare that people tend to drive down the middle of whatever road is available. Suddenly meeting a speeding truck and then collecting your thoughts to decide if you should aim to pass to the left or right can be scary.
Check with the car hire company to confirm local traffic regulations, parking restrictions and speed limits.
Include driving standards and practices in your pre-holiday research.
Weigh up the cost of a taxi, the cost of a hire car and the driving standards and conditions. You may find that taking a taxi anywhere you want to go is an acceptable option. In some countries the cost of hiring a car with a driver compares quite well with the cost of a hire car. With a chauffeur-driven car at your disposal you have the added benefits of a local guide and translator, no parking worries and no worries about having that extra drink at the beach party.
If you hire a taxi or private-hire vehicle, always make sure that you agree a fully inclusive price in advance. (The same goes for carriage rides, boat trips and tours.) You should also make sure that the driver is reputable and that the vehicle is properly maintained. Hotels and resorts should be able to advise you about which drivers are safe and honest and which you should avoid
Your research should have told you of any specific practicalities to driving in your holiday destination. You should know how to treat a cow or an elephant if you encounter one while driving. You should know if women are allowed to drive at all because in some countries they are not.
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. In the UK you know the quality and strength of the alcoholic drinks you are swallowing and what the laws and standards are. When abroad you should never drink and drive. I will restrict myself to just three reasons.
Fuel can be a problem if you are going to a remote destination. Seek advice about distances, fuel consumption and supply. If necessary get the rental company to mark your map with the locations of reputable garages or sources of fuel and ask them to give you a contact number in case of problems.
If you are going into a wilderness area, ONLY go with a professional guide who knows how to survive if things go wrong. It doesn’t take long to die of exposure and thirst if your car breaks down in a desert region.
If you are going to travel to a distant and remote place, get a local guide to take you. They know the route and what preparations to make to keep you safe.
Tell somebody where you are going, what route you will take and when you will arrive at your destination. They should then check up to make sure that you got there. If you didn’t, they should get the search and rescue teams looking for you.
Never ever leave the vehicle if you are stuck.
In remote areas a minimum of two vehicles is advised. If one vehicle breaks down, the other can go for help, or if one gets stuck the other can winch it out.
Make sure you carry plenty of food and more water than you think you will ever need.
Aim to take a radio, signal mirrors, smoke flares and shelter. At night in desert climates it gets very, very cold, so you will need warm clothing, a tent, warm food and materials to make a little campfire (which may be used to attract the attention of rescuers as well).
In any vehicle, if there is a seatbelt wear it, and make sure that children are strapped in too.
This is only one tenth of the preparation you need to make before you venture into a wilderness area alone. I guarantee that you are not prepared so DON’T DO IT.
Don’t hire, accept lifts on or drive a motorbike when abroad. It is one of the most dangerous forms of holiday transport.
If you absolutely must travel on a motorbike, scooter or moped, ONLY do so if you can be supplied with a decent crash helmet, goggles and protective clothes. Whizzing along in shorts and a tee-shirt may be cool, but after skidding down a gravel road, leaving several pounds of flesh embedded in the road surface, you will wish that you had changed your mind.
Avoid bicycles in most places too. They are almost as dangerous, but you probably won’t have the option of the crash helmet and protective clothes.
Even when walking, remember to look out for traffic coming from any direction. Think safety, be defensive
Never under any circumstances, go out on the road after you have been drinking and certainly don’t mix alcohol and drugs of any kind.
Vehicle Crime
There are two basic types of vehicle crime: ‘theft of and ‘theft from’ cars Thought the UK has pretty abysmal car crime statistics, we are not alone. That of cars is apparently higher in Sweden and Denmark than in the UK, with that not far behind us. In France and Spain theft from cars is on about the same level as the UK, but there is no record of how many of the victims were British tourists who fell victim while in France or Spam
Target
One problem with car crime abroad is that ‘foreign’ cars (UK registered) and tourist rental cars are usually easily identifiable. Criminals can spot a tourist’s car if it displays a foreign registration number or has some vehicle rental company logo in or on it. They can be pretty sure that it contains money, traveller’, cheques, credit cards, passports, cameras and all the other valuables and portables that we take on holiday.
In some countries such as the USA, thieves will go out of their way to target confused and lost, newly arrived tourists. It is not unknown for spotters to wait at an airport to identify wealthy-looking tourists. They up off their colleagues or follow their targets out of the airport and take what they want, sometimes at gunpoint.
Use common sense and stay alert. When you collect your hire car, make sure you get a good-quality map and clear instructions on how to get to your hotel or holiday complex, avoiding any rough areas. If in doubt, head for somewhere where there are bright lights and a lot of people. A service station, shopping complex or public building offers protection and safety because of the number or people around, officials working in the area and possible CCTV coverage. When you get there, ask for some new and clear directions to reach your destination. If really worried or totally lost, you could consider hiring a taxi to show you the way and follow it to your hotel.
Contents
The other main crime risk is of theft from cars. When you are on holiday you tend to be more relaxed. Forgetting to hide the car park change in the glove compartment, or leaving your camera on the back seat will invite a broken window and loss of property. As in the UK, getting to a car park and then carefully stowing everything in the boot of the car has limited benefits. If the criminals are watching, they know you have put your valuables in the boot. Think ahead. Never carry valuables if you don’t need them, and make sure that your insurance covers any threat.
Vehicle crime – countermeasures
Don’t be a target. Where at all possible, avoid displaying the evidence that you are a tourist. Don’t carry or leave suitcases with flight tags on the handles in clear view. Don’t carry or leave holiday brochures, tour schedules and guidebooks on display in your car.
Never leave anything, especially valuables, on display in the car. A sports bag might only contain a pair of smelly sandals and a wet beach towel, but a criminal doesn’t know that. He will break into the car to see if it contains a video camera and your passport and wallet.
Don’t carry any valuables around that you don’t need. Use the hotel safe to keep them secure (if it is safe). If you have to take anything valuable with you, discreetly keep it on your person. Don’t display valuables or hold them casually – a thief might snatch them off you.
Stepping off a long-haul flight into a country, city and car with which you are unfamiliar is not the best recipe for safety and security. I often bypass the car-hire desk and head for a hotel. I arrange for a hire car to be delivered to the hotel the next morning when I am fresh and ready. I return the car the day before my flight out as well so I relieve myself of that hassle on the last day, when I probably wouldn’t be driving anywhere. And I also save two days’ hire charges!
When driving a hire car you sometimes have to carry valuable things with you. If you want to leave anything in your car for any period of time, think ahead. Well before you get to the place you want to park, pull off the road in a busy safe place and store your things in the boot. That way any criminals in the area you eventually park in will not see you storing valuables in the boot. If they see that, they could well target your car.
Always lock your hire car and never ever get out and leave the keys in the ignition. Where some people are dismissive about rental cars, saying things like ‘it’s only a hire car’, I believe that that attitude increases your chances of becoming a victim of car crime. By treating a rental vehicle as though it is on loan from a friend, I am more considerate and careful when I use it. By taking that much more care, I am more aware of what I am doing and what is happening around me, and so I am more security conscious and consequently safer.
Be aware of any local risks. I did hear of one tourist in Africa who took a hire car to a safari camp and the car was charged and rammed by a rhinoceros. Imagine explaining that to the insurance company!
Always double-check your insurance. Due to a shortage of available vehicles I was once offered a free upgrade to a convertible car, so I checked my insurance. I found that I would have needed extra insurance to cover me for driving the convertible sports car they were offering me. I declined the upgrade offer. If I had accepted the convertible upgrade, I would have been driving while uninsured or at least under-insured.
Remember the vehicle you rent will dictate the level of security you have. A saloon car with a large boot has enough seating, air conditioning, and a large boot to hide things in. A convertible car is similar, but a craft knife is the only ‘key’ needed to get in with a quick slash to the canvas roof. Any jeep-type vehicle offers no protection to any possessions left in the car, little protection to the inhabitants (from assault, accident or sunstroke) and poor protection from the rain.
Use of Credit Cards
Credit card fraud is as common abroad as it is in this country. Credit card companies have systems that watch for unusual patterns of behaviour, and if they spot any unusual patterns they will query the usage, and ask a retail assistant to check. Your card suddenly turning up and being used in Zorkland might be identified as unusual and suspect usage, so you may find that any purchases when on holiday are barred and your card is seized and cut up by the retailer.
If you are going abroad, and want to use your credit and other cards on a once-in-a-lifetime luxury holiday, call the card company and discuss your plans, telling them where and when you are going and how long you will be there.
The new chip and pin cards offer more protection but they don’t offer complete protection.
There is some good news though. Credit card fraud abroad for UK citizens over the last year is reported to be the lowest level for five years. However, don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security. Stay alert. While there are credit card frauds at home, when you are abroad you are exposed to additional problems:
- A language and possibly different dialects that you do not understand.
- Customs and lifestyles that are alien to you.
- Currency that is alien to you.
- Making credit payments in busy or unusual tourist areas, such as caves or plantations, where the card is swiped in a ticket booth.
- You will only know about any abuse of your card when the statement comes to your front door in a month or two.
Credit card – countermeasures
Take care when using your credit and debit cards at home, take even more care when using them abroad.
Remember that some companies add processing fees and surcharges if you make purchases in a foreign currency in a foreign country.
Try where possible to only use your cards in major international companies such as hotel groups, vehicle rental companies, etc.
At the first sign of trouble contact your credit card company and explain what the problem is. Work with them as far as possible to resolve the problems.
Public Transport
Though there have been some high-profile accidents and terrorist attacks, UK public transport is still infinitely safer and of a better quality than many foreign services.
You must make sure that they fully understand your requirements when you book any tickets using public transport. Misunderstandings may not endanger your life, but they can ruin carefully laid plans, cause you stress and alarm, and generally ruin your day, if not the whole holiday. Remember that statistics show that more tourist deaths and injuries are caused while travelling in, on or being hit by minibuses.
The further you venture off the beaten track and away from traditional holiday destinations, the greater the risk you take by using some services. Some of the more common threats you may face are listed below.
- Some countries do not have the equivalent of our car, heavy goods or public service vehicle (bus) driving test. In countries that do have a driver testing and licensing system, in remote and rural areas the testing and licensing process is largely ignored and rarely enforced. That means that your driver may have first seen the vehicle he is using to transport you the day before.
- In some countries there is no equivalent of the MOT test. Consequently rusty vehicles with bald tyres and little or no brakes will probably be on the road around you.
- In the UK we drive on the left, though most other countries in the world have adopted a policy where they drive on the right-hand side of the road.
- In some countries there is no requirement to have insurance. Make absolutely sure that you have total insurance cover for any eventuality.
- Drink driving laws vary around the world. In some countries the limits imposed in Britain are seen to be far too lenient. In Sweden you will be behind bars before you can say ‘but I only had one, officer’ In some countries there are no drink driving laws.
- In some countries overloading of vehicles is an everyday occurrence. When carrying far more passengers than the vehicle was designed for and with additional loads of baggage and cargo strapped to the roof, a vehicle can become unstable on bends and braking systems can fail.
- In some countries vehicles are modified locally to increase capacity with no thought given to upgrading or reinforcing suspension components or upgrading braking systems.
- In some areas what they consider to be a main road would be identified as a country track to most Western travellers. Crash barriers are not fitted, hazard signs are not erected, and frequent random landslides and floods erase some stretches of the roads altogether. Travellers therefore have to take extra care.
- Some countries have few if any traffic laws, so there is no concept of ‘right of way’ or speed limits. Instead of that, the biggest and bravest simply charge through and take what space they want to take. The small and the weak get out of the way or suffer the consequences.
- Remember that there is also the threat of driving into remote areas and meeting armed bandits! Stay on main roads.
Other driving issues
- In Barbados when I asked which side of the road to drive on, I was half jokingly told ‘in the shade’! Lane discipline is quite lax in many countries. UK drivers must look out for vehicles overtaking on either side of them, while approaching vehicles may be in your lane.
- Driving practicalities vary as well. In India, cows have the right of way and cyclists are suicidal. Add to that the odd overloaded donkey, roaming elephant and decidedly mad bus and truck drivers and you have a concoction that will defy all logic, common sense and all attempts to be safe. They say that in India, within five years of production every single car will be involved or present at a fatal traffic accident!
- In some more remote countries and regions, petrol supplies are rare. In former Soviet bloc countries you are likely to find fuel being sold out of milk churns or fizzy drinks bottles at a roadside layby. The supply and quality of fuel is not guaranteed, so before you set off you must make sure that you are carrying enough fuel to reach your destination.
- Be very careful when arranging to drive though remote areas. Seek advice from local experts. Armed bandits are surprisingly common even in some parts of Europe.
- Beware of confidence tricks. The latest assault on UK holiday drivers is fraudulent speeding fines. Criminals spot a UK driver, collect their name and address, take the number and details of the car they are driving, then wait a couple of weeks. When the UK driver gets home he receives a very official-looking speeding ticket, or parking infringement notice. Enclosed with the notice is a demand for the ‘fine’ to be paid to a given address. More often than not there was no speeding or illegal parking – it is just the latest criminal trick to separate you and your money. If in doubt, check it out with the country’s embassy.
- In some countries corruption is so endemic that in some areas the population can do what they want to do, as long as they can afford to pay the appropriate bribes to the right officials.
Public transport – countermeasures
Investigate the quality of the public transport before you go. By looking beyond the brochures at some of the honest guides you will find the truth.
Make sure that whoever books your tickets and transport understands exactly what your requirements and expectations are in relation to safety, quality and the purpose of the journey.
Accept that some drivers are dangerous and in some countries almost all of the drivers are dangerous by UK standards. In knowing this you can take action that will avoid this threat!
Make sure that you book a safe means of transport, even if it means paying a premium. Ensure that the travel agent understands that though it might be ‘colourful’ and ‘adventurous’, paying ten pence less for a seat on the roof of the bus isn’t how you define safe!
When you arrive, check the vehicle in use and be prepared to find a different route. I once refused to get on a rusty tour coach that had a bald and damaged front tyre. I found a taxi and passed the bus in a shallow ditch a few miles up the road. Nobody was hurt, but on another day on another bend it could have been a very different story.
Accept that minibuses are notoriously dangerous. If confronted by a minibus on holiday and told that it is your transport, satisfy yourself that it is safe.
Be aware of the state of the roads, warning signs, speed limits and presence of crash barriers, etc. If I am going on a journey along winding narrow mountain roads where I know that there are no crash barriers or road signs, I take a lot more care in arranging my transportation than I would if I was at home.
Plan your journeys to avoid risks. On one business trip I made I was told that there was a two-day celebration, after which nobody in the country would be sober for at least a couple of days. I planned my trip to avoid the celebration and ‘hangover period’. A local colleague told me that as expected there were hundreds of traffic accidents and dozens of fatalities during that period. Simply changing my travel plans avoided the problem.
