A STAGGERING 58 per cent of motorists have been victims of road rage incidents in the last twelve months, according to new research from Sainsbury’s Insurance.
The research estimates that of those people who have suffered at the hands of another “road-enraged” driver during the past year, over 330,000 motorists have been physically assaulted during the incident and 5% of motorists have even been threatened with physical violence. 16% of motorists questioned claim to know someone else who has fallen foul of road rage aggression in the past 12 months.
Worryingly, 265,000 people are estimated to have been car jacked themselves, where an individual had tried to forcibly obtain their car while they were in it, and a further 262,000 claim to have suffered a failed car jacking attempt. Nearly one and a half million people claim to know of somebody else who has been a victim of car jacking.
An estimated 23.2 million drivers or around two thirds of all British motorists admit to having felt road rage themselves, with another driver's tailgating being the most common cause of rage. One in three (34%) drivers were left feeling rage when another driver pulled out at a junction when it wasn't clear to do so and one in four (26%) found someone driving too slowly the source of their road rage.
The major causes of road rage as shown in Sainsbury's study:
Tailgating 41%
Pulling out at junctions when they shouldn’t 34%
Changing lanes without indicating 32%
Driving too slowly 26%
Fast lane hogging 23%
A driver gesturing to you 21%
Anti-social behaviour e.g. littering 21%
Sudden braking by the car in front 15%
Speeding 14%
Revving at traffic lights 5%
According to the research, men are the most likely to have been involved in a road rage incident, and those aged between 18-24 appear to be the most vulnerable with 69% of drivers in that age group saying that they had been a victim. The over 65 age group experiences the least road rage incidents. Interestingly those most likely to be victims of road rage incidents are also most likely to be perpetrators of them, with 18-24 year olds among the most likely to feel rage behind the wheel. Those over 65 are also the least likely to feel road rage themselves.
From a geographical perspective, the South West has the highest percentage of people who have been a victim of a road rage incident, with 65% of motorists having been victims of this in this region. Wales has the smallest proportion of drivers who have been victims of motorists with road rage, at 47%.
Regional breakdown for road rage victims in last 12 months:
South West 65%
Yorkshire & Humberside 64%
West Midlands 64%
North West 61%
Eastern 60%
South East 58%
London 55%
North East 54%
East Midlands 53%
Scotland 48%
Wales 47%
