Car insurance study finds road rage inherited
Road rage inherited claim children
Friday, 27 Jun 2008 16:24
Our parents' poor driving habits are leading us to lose our rag behind the wheel, new research reveals.
Road rage is on the increase in the UK, with half of all British motorists affected, and this growing trend could in part be down to drivers imitating their parents’ behaviour behind the wheel, according to the new study.
Research by Norwich Union found that road rage is most likely to occur among inexperienced young drivers aged 18 to 29, with three in five (61 per cent) admitting to personality changes behind the wheel.
What’s more, nearly two in five (39 per cent) young drivers blame their parents for their erratic driving behaviour, saying they inherited their road rage tendencies from seeing them behind the wheel.
Norwich Union found that reckless driving (82 per cent), slow motorists (69 per cent) and traffic jams (49 per cent) top the list of main road rage triggers.
One in five (22 per cent) drivers simply shrug off any confrontation, while over half of UK drivers (52 per cent) react differently to how they would normally by swearing, shouting, making rude gestures and flashing their lights.
Nigel Bartram at Norwich Union said: "With more and more congestion on UK roads and driving becoming an increasingly stressful experience, it’s no wonder road rage is more widespread than ever.
"However, our research shows how important it is for drivers to try and keep their cool when on the roads – not only will it help make their children better drivers, it will also make their journey easier and less stressful, not to mention safer."
The study also found that men are more prone to road rage than women.
Older drivers aged 60 or above are the least affected by road rage with just 15 per cent affected.
Women are twice as likely as men to panic and lose concentration if faced with road rage.
Nick Copland, driver behaviour analyst and founder of MotorKarma.co.uk, said: "Children spend a lot of time in the car with their parents and the research shows the impact our parents’ behaviour behind the wheel can have on our own driving.
"Children pick up many of their parents’ habits when they become adults themselves and driving is clearly no different – that’s why parents should lead by example behind the wheel and try not to give in to road rage."