When it comes to the impact of transport on air quality in Europe, cars in the Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia fare the worst and they are labelled by the Eco Experts organisation as the most toxic drivers, while Croatia ranks the fifth on the list of 25 European countries.

The ranking was compiled according to the results from several criteria: the average vehicle age, the number of vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants, the percentage of alternative fuel passenger cars, and air pollution.

Motorists in the Czech Republic were named the most toxic in Europe, according to the report released by the British organisation Eco Experts. Not only do Czech motorists have the 6th lowest number of alternative fuel vehicles (0.7%), their cars are also the 6th oldest on average at 14.5 years old, according to the findings of the report.

“Vehicle owners in Poland came in at a close second. Despite having the highest number of alternative fuel passenger cars (15.5%) in the research, the eastern European country performed poorly on all other measures of vehicle toxicity. Most notably, Poland is home to the oldest cars in Europe (17.2 years on average) and has the highest recorded ambient air pollution in the continent,” reads the research.

“Estonia was found to be home to the third most toxic drivers in Europe, owing to its citizens driving the 5th oldest vehicles on average at 15.1 years old, and having the fifth highest number of vehicles per capita. The country also has a very low percentage of alternative fuel vehicles, at a mere 0.6%.

“Croatia and Slovakia completed the list of the top 5 most toxic drivers in Europe, with motorists in countries such as Slovenia and Romania not far behind.”

In terms of the number of vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants, Croatia ranks 25th (with 392 cars per 1,000 inhabitants). Only Latvia, Hungary and Romania have fewer cars per 1,000 inhabitants. Measured by this criterion, Malta and Luxembourg top the list.

In Croatia, the average vehicle age is 14.1 years.

via Old Cars Bringing More Air Pollution to Croatia