IN THE NEWS
ANGRY ROADS: NEW RESEARCH REVEALS SCALE OF OUR ROAD RAGE NATION
One in five (20 per cent) UK drivers, some 7.5 million road users, experi- ence road rage at least once a week, while six per cent - over two million drivers - get it every day, according to new research from BigChange, the mobile workforce technology company.
The study of more than 1,000 drivers showed that regular road rage was most common amongst younger drivers. Almost half of 18-34 year olds (42 per cent) admitted to experiencing road rage at least once a week, while 14 per cent of younger drivers said they got angry at the wheel every day. One in five (20 per cent) drivers aged 35-54 and just seven per cent of those over 55 admitted to experiencing road rage on a weekly basis.
The survey, which was conducted for BigChange by the consultancy Opinium and published as part of Leaders for Life, a new campaign to help business leaders promote safer driving at work, revealed that female drivers were also more likely to experience road rage than their male counterparts. More than a quarter (27 per cent) of women who drive regularly for work admitted to get- ting road rage at least once a week, compared to less than a fifth (18 per cent) of men.
Martin Port, CEO of BigChange, said: “Our research shows that road rage is a major problem on UK roads, and while certain groups are statistically more like- ly to experience it than others, it is an issue that can potentially affect every- one. We know that road rage, alongside workplace stress and the pressure of running late for appointments, is a major contributor
to dangerous driving
behaviours on UK roads. People who plan ahead and leave a little more time for their journeys tend to experience less stress while driving and pose less risk to themselves and others.”
Drivers of convertible vehicles were particularly prone to experiencing road rage, with almost half (44 per cent) getting angry at the wheel every week and a quarter (23 per cent) doing so on a daily basis. By contrast, MPV drivers were the calmest road users, with just nine per cent getting angry at the wheel each week.
Amongst drivers of the most popular car brands on UK roads, Audi owners were the most likely to get angry at the wheel, with more than a third (36 per cent) saying they did so weekly and almost one in five (16 per cent) every day. By contrast, drivers of Peugeot and Renault vehicles were the calmest, with only 11 per cent of them experiencing road rage each week.
Data Tables: Road rage rates by make and model
Paul Hackett, Founding Partner of The
WellBeings.London, a health and well- ness insight-led growth consultancy, said: “Working hard, late-night shifts, tight deadlines are among the litany of workplace factors that have a psycho- logical impact on employees. If those employees then carry their stress with them behind the wheel, we know the likelihood of them driving erratically is significantly higher. A stressed or anx- ious driver’s heart rate can accelerate from a typical 70bpm to over 180bpm; a dangerously high rate for many. Anger narrows a driver’s focus of atten- tion, most often resulting in the driver becoming territorial and impatient – which, in turn, means the driver is more likely to speed or commit other inap- propriate driving behaviour.”
30
JANUARY 2019
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