Region is crash capital

The West Midlands, with its high number of motorways and infamous Spaghetti Junction, is the nation's regional hot spot for crashes and near-accidents involving non-UK registered cars and licence holders.

Three per cent of drivers in the West Midlands have been involved in traffic accidents or near-misses with foreign-registered HGVs.

One per cent have been involved in a crash with a foreign-registered bus or coach, two per cent with a foreign-registered car and three per cent with non-UK licence holders.

Across the whole of the UK, one in 20 drivers, the equivalent of 1.4 million adults, has been involved in a road accident or near-miss with a non-UK registered car or a non-UK driving licence holder.

Two per cent, the equivalent of 700,000 UK adults, have been involved in an accident or near-accident with a foreign-registered HGV.

The findings emerged in a survey into British road safety carried out by online insurance company swiftcover.com.

The survey found that most of Britain's motorists (86 per cent) were completely unaware that the British national drivers' licence will be replaced with a single EU licence from 2013.

Of those aware of the forthcoming licence change, one in four (27 per cent) opposed it, believing driving standards will suffer as a consequence.

Only one in six of drivers believed the measure would prevent convicted drink drivers from applying for licences in other EU countries, often referred to as 'licence tourism'.

With 3,000 people killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads each year in drink-driving related accidents, this loop-hole poses a significant risk to road safety.

As a result, curbing 'licence tourists' across Europe is one of the key reasons for the introduction of pan-European licences.