Synovate Puts Road Rage in Perspective

95% of UK drivers have experienced some form of road rage in the past 12 months, second only to South Africa (97%) according to a new, ten-nation survey from Synovate. But at least this is mostly just shaking fists and swearing: in India 14% have experienced physical assault or had a weapon brandished at them.

More than 4,000 drivers were questioned in Greece, France, the US, Brazil, Malaysia, India, Korea, Taiwan, South Africa and the UK. The survey covered their experience of various acts on the road ranging from the irritating - persistent honking of horns - to actual physical violence. Just 2% of UK drivers had experienced an incident in this most alarming category.

Respondents from the UK, Greece and South Africa experience and express the highest levels of anti-social driving behaviour. Eight out of 10 drivers (81%) in the UK were the object of rude gestures and/or verbal insults, significantly higher than all other markets surveyed. Around one in ten drivers in the UK (11%) claim to have been on the receiving end of threatening behaviour in the past 12 months where the offender physically got out of their vehicle and approached them. South African and UK drivers were also most likely than others to have experienced aggressive and/or threatening driving behaviour (67% and 63% respectively).

Andrew Grant, Global Director of Synovate Motoresearch in EMEA, says it is 'not surprising that UK drivers experience such high levels of road rage incidents compared with other countries given that we¹re a small country with more and more congested roads'.

Far more people say they have experienced negative behaviour than admit to displaying it themselves - either because as Synovate suggests 'it seems others do it to us, but we don't accept that we do it to others' or presumably because a single bad and angry driver can worry a lot of people. Only 53% admitted to actually behaving in such a way themselves.

Perhaps surprisingly, in six out of ten markets people are more likely to associate aggressive driving behaviour with driving for leisure than with the traditionally stressful commute to or from work. In the UK, seven out of 10 claim they've had a bad experience while on a leisurely drive. Grant says this points to 'the fact that we are a cash-rich, time-poor nation and drivers take particular offence to people being in their way or driving badly during their spare time'.

The study also asked respondents about their own aggressive driving behaviour, as well as the primary vehicle they drive. Only 9% of UK respondents consider themselves to be cautious drivers (rating themselves as fairly to extremely slow and cautious), in comparison to 46% of the French. Correspondingly, only 44% of the French say they have experienced road rage.

In most of the countries surveyed, a mid- or full-sized car is the most common primary means of transport. This is not the case in Brazil which has more small cars at 65%, and India and Taiwan which have more motorcycles at 34% and 63%, respectively.

Synovate's home page is at www.synovate.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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