Switzerland has been named the most car-friendly country in Europe, according to a ranking put together by the International Drivers’ Association. Other front-runners in the ranking included the Netherlands and Belgium. 

Roads in Switzerland are the safest in Europe

According to Blick, the ranking found that Switzerland is the best country in Europe for drivers, placing particularly highly in the road safety, road accidents and traffic density categories. Switzerland was recorded as having just 1,71 deaths per 100.000 residents, comparatively lower than the 2,83 per 100.000 in the Netherlands, which came in second place. In third came Belgium, with 5,1 road deaths per 100.000 people. 

Switzerland was also ranked as the best European country in the road safety category, with Iceland and Sweden rounding out the podium. The study - which compared 33 countries overall - also ranked Switzerland's neighbours highly, with Germany in fifth place, Austria in ninth place and France in 10th place. Italy was the only neighbour to not place in the top 10. 

Switzerland has fewer traffic jams than other European countries

One of the reasons Switzerland’s highways are so safe for bought and leased cars is due to the relatively quiet roads and motorways across the country. While other countries in Europe suffer from traffic issues, Switzerland scored highly in the ranking due to having fewer traffic jams, despite continual traffic issues during the summer. 

Switzerland didn’t take the crown in all categories, though. According to Blick, the ranking showed that the country with the best quality roads is the Netherlands, while Belgium was crowned as the country with the densest road network.