30 million Brits suffer from road rage every week
(PRWEB UK) 8 June 2016 -- - 86% of UK drivers left angry on the road at least once a week
- 1 in 3 “peeved” every day
- Tailgaters and people not indicating the top road annoyances
- Most Brits swear or use hand gestures to vent their anger
Every week, 30 million car drivers are left raging on the roads, according to research conducted on behalf of Ocean Finance.
With as many as 10 million Brits getting agitated behind the wheel every day, it would seem the streets of the UK are a major cause of anger.
Those living in Wales were most likely to keep their cool when faced with driving annoyances. Comparatively, the North East comes out as the hotspot for hotheads, with 92% admitting to losing their rag on the road at least once a week.
Furthermore, men (88%) were marginally more likely to see red than women (84%).
Tailgating, people not indicating and people who use their mobile phone behind the wheel came out as the top pet peeves for most drivers. Other common irritations include:
Bad habits on the road/Number of people who say they get annoyed by others doing this:
Not indicating - 6.6m Brits
Tailgaters - 6.6m Brits
Using a mobile phone - 6.5m Brits
Being cut-up - 2.6m Brits
Speeding - 2.6m Brits
Not saying ‘thank you’ - 2.4m Brits
Driving below the speed limit - 2m Brits
Blocking junctions - 2m Brits
Jumping traffic lights - 1.2m Brits
Drifting out of lanes - 0.9m Brits
When faced with people who annoy them on the road, 8 million Brits swear to release their frustration and a further 4.5 million use hand gestures to make their anger known.
As many as half a million Brits say that they would go to the length of following the car until it stops so they can tell the driver off – 18 to 24-year-olds were twice as likely to do this than any other age group.
Worryingly, one in three drivers say they have been in an incident as a result of someone’s careless, bad driving habits. While most (8 million) got away with just a minor incident, 2.5 million were caught up in a more serious accident.
Ian Williams, Ocean’s spokesperson, said: “The vast majority of drivers are careful, polite and considerate. However, when we do encounter one that isn’t it seems that many of us struggle to keep our cool. We’d urge drivers who encounter some dodgy driving to stay calm – getting stressed isn’t going to help.”
Editors’ notes
- Red Dot questioned a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults aged 18 and over between 14th March 2016 – 17th March 2016, of whom 636 were Scottish residents. Figures have been extrapolated to fit ONS 2013 population projections of 50,371,000 UK adults.
About Ocean Finance
Established in 1991, Ocean Finance is one of the UK’s leading loan and mortgage brokers. The company works with many of the UK’s leading loan and mortgage lenders to help people find the right deal.
Website: http://www.oceanfinance.co.uk
For further information please contact:
Ian Williams
Ian.williams(at)thinkmoneygroup(dot)com
@iwill41
Tel: 0161 605 6005 / Mob: 07855 214851
Bryony Pearce, Ocean Finance, +44 8450566368, [email protected]
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