Insurance, helmets, seatbelts, MOTs – and of course annual breakdown cover – these things we take for granted in the UK in order to make our driving experiences enjoyable and safe, but in some countries they appear to be merely ornamental.

Take India, for example. A friend of mine recently experienced renting a scooter – Indian style. He only rented it for the evening and managed to get the price down to about two pounds for the remaining hours of the day. A complete scooter novice, my friend was then shown the throttle and the back brake, and, well, that was it!

After a wobbly start the friend in question soon got the hang of the scooter – and thoroughly enjoyed it – but was rather taken aback by several facts about the transaction; the man renting the scooter did not ask for any form of ID or any kind of security deposit – for what would be a significant asset in India. He was also not too interested in finding out if my friend had a valid licence (he did, but it remained tucked away in his wallet).

When my friend finally arrived at his destination (an old Portuguese fort), he discovered that the scooter had a helmet secreted away under the seat – a piece of equipment that might have been more helpful if revealed a little sooner.

But the word ‘safety’ does not mean a great deal in some countries, despite sky high accident figures that suggest people should be a little more wary.

Think yourself lucky that in the UK so many rules and regulations are in place – they only exist for one reason – to keep you in one whole piece!