Thousands of UK drivers travelling abroad on their holidays this summer could be breaking strict drink drive limits, without even realising they are over the limit.

While the safest advice is to not drink at all whilst behind the wheel, some drivers might be surprised to find that countries on the continent have differing views and different limits to the UK.

New research from Discover Car Hire has revealed that there are a number of countries across Europe which actually have stricter drink drive limits that England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The limit is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood but is often less, in fact of the 47 countries in Europe, only Malta has the same limit, every other country is less, even Scotland. Some countries, such as Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Romania and Slovakia have a zero tolerance policy to drinking and driving, which means that the slightest alcohol registered in your system will be punished.

Dmitrijs Zaznovs, a spokesperson for DiscoverCarHire.com said: “The safest way to travel is to not drink and drive at all.

“Even if you feel OK to drive, you may still be over the legal limit for driving in a country you don’t know very well.

“Our new map will encourage drivers to think about what they are drinking and how it might affect them, so that they can abide by the laws of their country, but most importantly, have a safe trip.”

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