More than 70% of motorists admit their own poor driving adds to road rage as driver error remains the greatest cause of accidents, according to new research by Continental Tyres.
The study found that more than 25 million motorists apply double standards and get sufficiently wound up by the slack habits of others, resulting in them reacting angrily and even driving more aggressively.
The responses of 2,000 drivers identified that 75% see poor driving skills as a major safety concern – and their greatest irritation when behind the wheel.
The research was commissioned to address how road safety can be improved and accidents reduced as part of Continental Tyres's commitment to ‘Vision Zero’, with the aim of reducing accidents through its innovative tyre technologies and automotive systems.
Department for Transport figures report more than 500 accident every day result in an injury or fatality (figures to year ended March 2015).
Mark Griffiths, safety spokesman for Continental Tyres, said: “Driving is a complex task that requires attention and concentration – when we fail to do that it creates problems for ourselves and other road users.
“That ranges from a heated exchange with other road users to something more serious – so it is vital we make safety our primary consideration for the duration of every journey.”
The study also reports that we see bad driving habits on one in every four journeys, the worst being using a mobile, driving too close (tailgating), dangerous overtaking and failing to signal.
Despite recognising the risks, 39% of motorists admit to having broken the speed limit in the last month. Nearly one in 10 also own up to using their mobile when in charge of a vehicle.
Griffiths added: “Adopting a double-standard and disapproving of the faults of others while ignoring our own failings is a clear concern.
“We and other automotive businesses have engineers delivering new technologies to improve road safety. Importantly though it cannot replace the need for motorists to be attentive so they enjoy their driving experience and improve safety for themselves and those they share the roads with.”
Darren - 09/12/2015 11:13
Education is the key here. I think there are a lot of people who forget the rules of the road, the highway code and how to drive safely. Also there is a level of selfish driving which is slowly becoming the norm. But who will educate people? There are never any police around to catch this, and when they do, they mostly just ignore it. The incidents of driving I have witnessed myself in the last month have been appalling; these include: Someone driving the wrong way around a roundabout to avoid traffic, people using a left only lane to drive straight on to get one or two cars further ahead, people pulling off an A road onto an on ramp and jumping some of the A road traffic and pulling back on again, someone barging between the two lanes of traffic and hitting my car (door mirror) and refusing to pull over, someone pulling onto a roundabout as I was going round it on my motorbike almost knocking me off… the list goes on. Until there is some traffic enforcement, this will continue to get worse. The road rage comes about when people see this happen day after day and feel powerless to do anything about it, it really is becoming a battlefield out there. The law abiding are being taken for granted by bad drivers, and we don’t get any support. Ok, rant over!