| Poor driving standards are causing road rage, but motorists think they are the fault of other drivers and not themselves. This is the main finding of research by leading insurance expert Admiral into what irritates British motorists.
Admiral surveyed over 1,000 motorists as part of its Annual Drivers’ Survey, released later this month. Among the findings of the survey are:
- Half of drivers think they drive better than the average motorist
- Only 16% don’t think they pass their driving test if they sat it now
- 70% admit they get road rage while driving
- Tailgating ranks as the bad habit they find most annoying
While 50% said they think they drive better than the average motorist, only 2% think they drive worse. It won’t come as a surprise to many women, but men are more confident in their driving ability. 60% of them said they drive better than average with less than 1% saying they drive worse. Only 41% of women think they drive better than average.
Men are also more confident that they would pass their driving test if they had to sit it today. 73% of men believe they would, compared with 55% of women. Overall, less than one in six think they wouldn’t pass it if they sat it now.
However it is clear from Admiral’s research that most motorists are less complimentary about other road users. 19% said they often get angry while driving, and a further 51% said they get angry now and again. Only one in every twenty motorists questioned said they never get angry.
Thankfully most people only take their anger out verbally and not physically. 23% said they have verbally attacked another motorist due to feeling road rage, while only 2% said they had physically attacked another motorist or their car due to road rage.
The motorists Admiral surveyed ranked tailgating as the most annoying bad motoring habit. 27% put this at the top of their list, followed by hogging the middle lane on the motorway named by 21% and not indicating named by 16%.
Admiral managing director, Sue Longthorn, said, “It’s clear from our survey that British motorists are quick to criticise others while maybe not acknowledging they too have bad driving habits.
“Something which is rather unsettling from our research is the number of people who get angry while driving. Although only 2% said they have physically attacked someone due to road rage, when you consider there are around 33,000,000 cars in the UK, this equates to 660,000 people.
“As our roads get more congested, driving is going to get more frustrating. We’d suggest everyone considers this the next time they feel angry behind the wheel. We’re all in the same position, we’re all just trying to get somewhere safely.”
Issue date: 27-11-06
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