It would make for good slapstick, were the results not so serious: Brits abroad, driving on the wrong side of the road, getting lost then running out of petrol, circling a roundabout in the wrong direction and leaving their driver's license at home.

Recent government figures show Britons can be appalling drivers when on holidays – indulging in reckless driving many would not contemplate while at home.

In a survey published today, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office found of the 8 million Britons who drive on their holiday's abroad, two-thirds have run into problems.

Nearly a third have driven on the wrong side of the road, while more than one in 10 have driven the wrong way around a roundabout.

As a result, death rates for holiday makers are higher than at home: Britons are almost twice as likely to die on the road in Spain as in the UK, almost three times as likely in Greece and more than twice as likely in the USA. Alcohol has been blamed as a significant contributing factor to the high accident rate.

Crime can also be an issue, with an unlucky few losing all of their valuables following a theft or "motorway mugging".

Pamela Deegan, vice-consul in Lille, France, said consular staff deal with a range of driving-related incidents abroad.

"Around half of the hospitalisations and deaths we dealt with last year were related to road accidents," she said.

"The majority of Britons driving from the UK to the continent drive through northern France and many of the accidents we deal with are caused by driver fatigue, drink-driving, speeding and driving on the wrong side of the road."

To try and counter this the FCO is launching a campaign to encourage British drivers to stay safe on foreign roads.