Shocking new figures show that 143 people died last year in the UK as a result of ‘road rage’ incidents.
A record number of people died in accidents caused by aggressive driving.
Government figures show there were 2,722 collisions last year where aggressive driving behavior contributed, resulting in a total of 4,084 casualties.
Mister Auto’s 2019 Driving Cities Index Named and Shamed the Cities with the Worst Road Rage (File Image)
Among the 143 dead were 17 pedestrians, six cyclists, 34 motorcyclists, 79 people in passenger cars and seven in trucks or other vehicles.
AA’s Jack Cousens said The sun: “Remaining calm and controlled is incredibly important to reducing these preventable deaths.”
The AA calls for graduated licenses to prevent drivers under 21 from transporting passengers of the same age for six months after passing the test.
In addition, the automobile organization wants drivers under 21 years of age to receive a six-point penalty for not wearing a seat belt in the same period.
The RAC estimates that between Friday and Monday 19.2 million leisure trips will be made by car, which will mean intense traffic for drivers throughout the weekend.
A study by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart recently found that Generation Z and Millennials are more likely to lose control while driving.
More than half (63 percent) of motorists aged 17 to 34 said they had honked to express anger at the behavior of another road user in the past year, compared to just 42 percent of drivers over 70 years of age.
Of the 2,000 people surveyed, two-thirds (66 percent) said they were more worried about aggressive drivers than last year.
Two or five (81 percent) of motorists surveyed said they had been followed too closely – a contributing factor in one in eight crashes – on a highway at 30 mph in the past 12 months.
Three-quarters reported being followed too closely on a motorway or dual carriageway, and men are more likely to be victims than women.
According to the research, traffic is a hugely aggravating factor in incidents of road rage, with almost a third (31 per cent) admitting to honking to get the driver in front to hurry through a traffic jam.
Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and standards at IAM RoadSmart, said: “We all need to share the road and bear in mind that aggressive tactics like following someone too closely won’t save you in any way, but they will make you more likely to succeed. “. have a collision.
‘Drivers should be aware that sometimes things are beyond their control. The best way to avoid stressful trips is to plan your route before you leave and give yourself enough time to reach your destination.’
A recent survey by IAM RoadSmart found that Millennial and Generation Z drivers are the most likely to suffer from road rage, and it’s traffic that makes drivers’ blood boil the most.
Scientists at the University of Warwick also identified some of the most common behaviors of aggressive drivers.
In the past, studies have shown that road rage affects women more than men and that women are much more likely to lose their cool behind the wheel.
The researchers suggested that women have an instinctive “early warning system” that dates back to our early female ancestors who had a sense of danger in the face of threats.
Another study found that the worst drivers drive on Tuesdays in September, between six and nine in the morning.
For their study, published in Accident Analysis and Prevention, the researchers analyzed the results of 34 published studies on road rage.
They defined a driver as aggressive when he or she engaged in behavior that intentionally endangered others, either psychologically, physically, or both.
Aggressive drivers have a speed of 5.3 km/h (3.3 mph), which is faster than non-aggressive drivers and they also make 2.5 times more mistakes.
Errors included failure to signal when changing lanes, collisions, violating stop signs and exceeding speed limits.
Researchers say drivers may speed up as a way to relieve their frustration when encountering, for example, traffic or a slow driver.
The anger they feel or express, such as when yelling, can also serve as a driving distraction and lead to more errors.
