Shocking new figures reveal that 143 people died in Britain last year as a result of ‘road rage’ incidents.
A record number of people died in crashes caused by aggressive driving.
Government figures show that last year there were 2,722 collisions involving aggressive driving, resulting in a total of 4,084 victims.
Mister Auto’s Driving Cities Index 2019 names the cities with the worst road rage (stock image)
The 143 deaths included 17 pedestrians, six cyclists, 34 motorcyclists, 79 people in cars and seven in trucks or other vehicles.
AA CEO Jack Cousens said The sun: ‘Staying calm and in control is incredibly important to reducing these preventable fatalities.’
The AA is calling for gradual driving licenses to prevent drivers under the age of 21 from carrying passengers of a similar age for six months after passing their test.
The motorists’ organization also wants drivers under the age of 21 to receive six penalty points for not wearing a seat belt during the same period.
The RAC estimates that 19.2 million leisure car journeys will be made between Friday and Monday, meaning heavy traffic for motorists all weekend.
A study by road safety organization IAM RoadSmart recently found that Gen Z and Millenials are most likely to lose their rag behind the wheel.
More than half (63 percent) of drivers between the ages of 17 and 34 say they have honked their horn in the past year to express their anger about the behavior of another road user. For drivers over 70, this is only 42 percent.
Of the 2,000 people surveyed, two-thirds (66 percent) say they are more concerned than last year about aggressive drivers.
Two in five (81 percent) of drivers surveyed said they had tailgated on a 30mph road in the past 12 months – a contributing factor to one in eight collisions.
Three quarters report having been chased on a motorway or dual carriageway, with men more likely to be victims than women.
According to the research, traffic is a huge aggravating factor in road accidents, with almost a third (31 percent) admitting to honking their horn to encourage the car in front to hurry up in a traffic jam.
Nicholas Lyes, policy and standards director at IAM RoadSmart, said: ‘We all need to share the road and bear in mind that aggressive tactics such as tailgating someone will not save you time, but may make it more likely that you will. have a collision.
‘Drivers need to be aware that sometimes there are things they have no control over. The best way to avoid stressful travel is to plan your route before you go and give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination.”
A recent IAM RoadSmart survey found that Millennial and Gen Z drivers are the most likely to experience road rage – and that traffic is the most likely to make motorists’ blood boil
Scientists from the University of Warwick have also identified some of the most common behaviors of aggressive drivers.
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 from threats.
Another study shows that the worst drivers in September drive on Tuesdays 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 engaged in behavior that intentionally endangered others, either psychologically, physically, or both.
Aggressive drivers have an average higher speed of 5.3 km/h than non-aggressive drivers and also make 2.5 times more mistakes.
Mistakes included failure to signal when changing lanes, collisions, violating stop signs and exceeding the speed limit.
The researchers say drivers may drive faster as a way to relieve their frustration when encountering traffic or a slow motorist, for example.
The anger they feel or express, for example by shouting, can also serve as a distraction from driving and lead to more mistakes.