Motorists should consider giving up road rage for Lent, according to the results of a new study into driving habits.
Research has found that road rage has become an ingrained part of UK culture, with almost half (47 percent) of drivers saying that they have experienced it.
More concerningly, one-in-six (15 percent) of those surveyed said they experienced road rage frequently, with close to one-third (31 percent) of those surveyed said that it was more of an occasional occurrence for them.
In comparison, around one-quarter (24 percent) of UK drivers have managed to avoid road rage, telling researchers that they have never experienced it.
Road rage most likely for men
The research, undertaken for road safety technology firm Ooono, uncovered a notable difference between genres in their experiences of road rage.
Over half of men (51 percent) said they had felt road rage whilst driving, compared to only 42 percent of women. In addition, men were more than twice as likely to often experience it, with 22 percent against 9 percent of female drivers.
Those aged between 35 and 44 were the most likely to regularly experience road rage, with 29 percent reporting frequent incidents. Older drivers were far less likely, seeing just 4 percent of those aged 65 to 74 saying they had repeat bouts of road rage.
More than one-in-ten (12 percent) of those surveyed said that they feel ‘stressed, anxious or emotionally overwhelmed’ every single day while driving. This increased to 40 percent for those who had this occur several times a week.
Get more sleep to avoid road rage
“Driving has become one of the main pressure points of modern life,” said Sean Morris, Ooono’s UK chief operating officer.
“By the time people get into the car, they’re often already carrying stress from work, family or financial worries. The road is where that pressure comes out – and unfortunately, it’s coming out as anger.
A lack of sleep was the most common reason cited for triggering road rage, being a factor for one-third (33 percent) of respondents.
This was followed by work pressures for 29 percent of drivers, with financial pressure caused by cost of living on 27 percent.
“Lent is about pausing, reflecting and giving something up. Giving up anger on the road – even just for 40 days – could make journeys safer, calmer and healthier for everyone. If we can change how we feel behind the wheel, we can change how our roads feel too,” adds Sean Morris.
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