BRITAIN’S SCHOOL RUN ROADS AT BOILING POINT, WARNS RAC LEGAL SERVICES
06 September 2004 - RAC Motoring Services Ltd

With the school run back with a vengeance this week, Britain’s roads are at boiling point – as traffic levels and tensions rise again, an RAC Legal Services study has found eight million UK drivers admit to road rage at other motorists or arguments with passengers.

Over 10 per cent of weekday morning rush hour traffic can be attributed to the school run, as many parents rush to work via the school gates, often causing congested and stressful urban roads.

RAC Legal Services research has revealed one in ten motorists (10 per cent) risk their safety through road rage at other drivers, from verbal abuse and gestures to physical attacks. Meanwhile, almost a fifth (18 per cent) take their eyes off the road to argue with passengers while driving.

Regionally, drivers in Scotland are most aggressive when it comes to road rage against other motorists – 15 per cent admit to having verbally or physically attacked another driver in the past six months – while drivers in northern England and London are the worst for arguing in the car (21 per cent).

And while the stereotype road rage driver may be male, the RAC study proves women are just as susceptible – nine per cent of women compared with eight per cent of men admitted to being angry behind the wheel.

Mark Hodges, legal affairs manager for RAC Legal Services said: “Too many motorists still view their journey as more important than their safety. Driver error is a factor in almost all of the 200,000 accidents on our roads each year – and in the £33 million of road accident injury claims we process annually.

“Road rage not only increases the risk of being involved in an accident, but also brings the threat of violence between frustrated motorists, which itself can lead to injuries or worse.
Even if there are no casualties, police prosecutions for careless or dangerous driving can result from even the briefest incidents of road rage.

“Motorists need to appreciate the risks they’re taking and calm down behind the wheel”, concluded Hodges.

RAC Legal Services questioned 2,500 drivers on their behaviour over the past six months.

The following table details regional statistics, as percentage of all respondents, from the RAC Legal Services driver behaviour research:

Total % London South Midlands/Wales North Scotland
Suffered from road rage 10 11 5 9 8 15
Argued in the car while driving 18 21 14 13 21 18

www.rac.co.uk

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