comparethemarket.com has revealed almost two in three (62%) drivers experience road rage, with one in three people reporting more than two incidents a week. Almost one in three (30%) have been involved with a face-to-face confrontation with another driver.
The research unveils the nation’s road rage hotspots, the most common sources of driver frustration and tips to help reduce anger while driving.
The most common sources of road rage
The most common cause of UK drivers’ road age is being tailgated (35%), followed by slow driving (29%), witnessing other drivers talking on their phone (29%) and lack of indication (29%).
|
Source of road rage |
Percentage of UK drivers who agree |
|
Tailgating |
35% |
|
Slow driving |
29% |
|
Witnessing a driver talking on their phone |
29% |
|
Lack of indication |
29% |
|
Overtaking on the inside |
20% |
Somewhat surprisingly, being on the road at the same time as learner drivers was the least common source of anger among drivers.
The top four regions that find slow driving the greatest source of road rage are Belfast, Brighton, Bristol, and Cardiff. Whereas a lack of indication particularly angers drivers from Leeds. Mancunians are aggravated the most by witnessing other drivers on their phones.
Belfast is named the place with the highest road rage
With almost three quarters (71%) experiencing anger while driving, Belfast is ranked as the highest area for road rage, followed by Sheffield (68%), Birmingham and Nottingham (66%).
Whilst Newcastle and Edinburgh have the lowest rates of road rage.
The locations where drivers experience the most road rage
Town centres generate the most frustration among drivers with 21% of road users agreeing this is where they experienced it the most frequently. Congested city traffic (18%) and motorways (15%) follow closely behind.
Three in four UK drivers believe road rage should be recognised as an offence in UK law
Currently, the act of road rage itself is not a recognised offence in UK law, yet 75% of drivers would like to see this introduced as a legal offence.
But not everyone is in agreement. National differences in opinion showed that drivers in Wales agreed the most that road rage should become an offence (82%) followed by Scotland (79%) and England (74%) whereas only 59% of those in Northern Ireland were in agreement.
The full study can be found here: https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/angry-motorists/