So, what should you do if you’re confronted by road rage? Or perhaps you’re someone who lets your emotions run dangerously high behind the wheel?
To help answer these questions, here’s our guide to road rage and what you can do to ensure you get to your destination safely and calmly…
What is road rage?
What causes road rage?
What are the signs of road rage?
How dangerous is road rage?
How common is road rage in the UK?
Is road rage against the law?
How do I know if I have road rage?
How can I prevent road rage?
What should I do if I’m the victim of road rage?
How can I report an aggressive driver?
Does my car insurance cover road rage?
Road rage is a catch-all term used to describe various types of aggressive and angry behaviour from drivers on the road. The term was first coined by US broadcasters back in the 1980s in response to shootings on the highway.
Thankfully incidents of road rage are rarely this severe. Road rage behaviour can range from rude gestures and verbal insults from behind the wheel, to dangerous or aggressive driving that intends to intimidate other road users.
As road rage is a broad term that relates to a range of behaviours, there is no single cause. But there are certain situations and driving behaviours that are more likely to lead to angry and frustrated drivers.
These factors are pretty easy to identify for most, but sometimes when you’re an aggressive driver looking to control your behaviour, you might not be able to immediately identify what set you off in the first place.
For example, people often get stressed when faced with crowded spaces and it’s no different on the road – roadworks and traffic jams are common triggers for hostile behaviour.
Because these factors are often an unexpected part of your journey, nasty surprises such as a long delay caused by roadworks can make road rage more likely.
Certain driving behaviours are also seen to be aggressive and dangerous on the roads:
All of these and more seemingly innocuous driving mistakes can still trigger aggressive responses from other drivers. There’s a degree of separation that happens when we’re each in our cars as well - this can embolden drivers to show much more hostility than they would if they weren’t in the isolation of their own vehicle.
The image of punch-ups at the side of the road comes to many people’s minds when they think of road rage, but in reality, there are a whole host of more subtle aggressive driving behaviours that cause unsafe situations:
As well as being aggressive, these behaviours can lead to deadly collisions. For example, a recent Highways England report found 12.5% of all casualties on England’s major routes were caused by tailgating drivers.
