Car insurance: Road rage tailgating UK
One in six drivers have been victims of road rage
Wednesday, 09 Apr 2008 11:02
Although one in six drivers have been victims of road rage in the last 12 months, only one in 20 insurance policies have a specific allowance for personal injury.
Research from price comparison site MoneyExpert.com found more than 7.4 million motorists have been involved in confrontations with other drivers.
The survey found that nearly 300,000 drivers had their cars damaged as a result of road rage confrontations – graphically illustrating the need for insurance.
Yet MoneyExpert estimates only one in twenty fully comprehensive car insurance policies have a specific allowance for personal injury caused by road rage.
Sean Gardner of MoneyExpert.com, said: "Most of us will have lost our tempers while stuck in traffic and can sympathise with the sense of frustration felt by other drivers.
"But any sympathy goes out of the window for drivers who take out their anger on others. Shouting and swearing at other motorists is bad enough but damaging other drivers' cars is beyond the pale.
"Our study did not thankfully find any evidence of physical assault but that is perhaps more down to luck than anything else. The fact that one in six of us has suffered from road rage is worrying. And of course many of us may be guilty of road rage ourselves."
The most common form of road rage reported by motorists is tailgating – driving too close to another car – or other forms of aggressive driving.
Around three-quarters of those who have suffered road rage in the past year were tailgated.
Half of the road rage incidents reported by motorists resulted in verbal confrontation while four per cent saw cars being damaged.
Drivers in the north of England are more likely to be road rage victims with 18 per cent reporting incidents while just 12 per cent of motorists in London have been victims.