A recent report from UK insurer AXA calculated that 800 lives are lost in Britain through accidents caused by road rage or disrespectful driving, prompting a campaign to promote more courteous behaviour.
Initial research revealed that almost four in 10 drivers involved in the 222,100 accidents on British roads every year say they were frightened or angered by other drivers in the moments before the incident.
Motoring psychologist Peter Marsh says that disrespectful, aggressive driving can cause an accident, while the negative emotions created by this type of driving can cause other drivers to become irrational and make mistakes.
The behaviours categorised by motorists as “disrespectful” range from speeding, driving erratically and ignoring road signs to beeping a horn in anger, making offensive hand gestures, yelling, swearing and flashing headlights.
Research carried out earlier in the year by AXA found that 79 per cent of drivers believe that British motorists are generally disrespectful to fellow road users, with 52 per cent having been subjected to a “significant” act of road rage such as shouting and aggression.
Road rage is a limiting belief which revolves around a driver’s inability to accept normal driving etiquette as the best and safest way to complete each and every road journey.
It can be dealt with quite effectively by a series of coaching sessions, which change negative beliefs into much more positive ones.
