It’s perhaps no surprise to state that a lot of us tend to get a bit irate at other motorists while out on the roads. Whether it’s a slightly passive-aggressive ‘tut’ and shake of the head, or a full-on shouting session at someone who just cut you up – we’re probably all guilty of it in some form.
In fact, an interesting new study has found that UK drivers are TWICE as likely to get angry and confrontational behind the wheel than they are in normal everyday life. That’s the findings of a study commissioned by Churchill Motor Insurance, who found that 57% of us admit to adopting a far more aggressive stance than we otherwise would if we weren’t in the confines of our own vehicles.
Polling the honest opinions of a fraction over 2,000 British adults, a figure of 31% admitted they had sworn at total strangers whilst behind the wheel of their cars, a stat which unsurprisingly drops to a mere 12% when experiencing face-to-face encounters.
In terms of general unpleasantness aimed in the direction of other road users, 26% were guilty as charged when it came to shouting at motorists, compared with just 12% who admitted similar behaviour when they become aggrieved in the street.
Meanwhile it emerged that 33% of UK drivers have blasted their horn in anger, while 11% confirmed that they had intentionally tailgated another car at one time or another. Amongst the most trotted out excuses for displaying aggressive tendencies while driving are the ‘well, the other driver probably can’t hear me anyway’ old chestnut and ‘I feel protected inside my car’ riposte.
In response to the results of the survey, psychologist Donna Dawson told news outlets that drivers take a chill pill and learn to relax a little more out on the roads. OK, she actually recommended that we all remained calm and to avoided over-reacting to situations that present themselves.
Dawson; “If we became angry at every perceived injustice that occurred to us on the road we would damage our mental and physical health and probably end up in an accident,” who went on to add;“The only way to make driving safe and more tolerable… is to show each other patience and consideration.”
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