Police plea to skip the aggression

Take a deep breath and keep calm

POLICE are urging road users to stay calm during this holiday period amid concerns an influx of post-lockdown traffic may spark an increase in roadrage incidents.

Geelong highway patrol Senior Sergeant Craig Stevens said police often laid criminal charges following episodes of road rage, with some road users becoming so aggressive cars were damaged or drivers were threatened.

“Victims can be really traumatised by road-rage incidents and it can have an ongoing effect on their confidence on the road,” Sergeant Stevens said.

“Quite often, people who have upset other road users, or cause road-rage incidents – sometimes they inadvertently do it, it’s not a deliberate act and all of a sudden there is a focus of abuse and at times physical assault by other motorists.”

He said police were “absolutely” concerned that increased road congestion over the festive period could lead to poor driver behaviour.

“The key message is to be calm when driving all the time, regardless of the driving conditions,” he said.

“Quite often, it’s out of your control, the road conditions.

“You just have to be mindful of other road users and be courteous on the roads.”

Sergeant Brian McKiterick, also from Geelong highway patrol, said the expected increase in traffic on Geelong roads over the holiday period would likely result in more instances of road rage.

“Additional traffic means congestion and this culminates in frustration for drivers,” Sergeant McKiterick said.

“Drivers should be calm when driving and realise that their behaviour behind the wheel impacts greatly on others, and has repercussions.

“A deep breath can really help. In reality, the incidents which spark aggression in drivers tend to be trivial.

“If involved in an incident, don’t retaliate, avoid further aggression, and take the registration (number) of the other vehicle.”

The extent of road rage is difficult to quantify in Victoria, where police do not charge criminal incidents using a specific road rage offence.

The Crime Statistics Agency did not respond to requests for any available data which might show the extent of road rage in Geelong.

Car insurer Budget Direct released its latest road-rage survey statistics in August, finding 75 per cent of Victorians had experienced another driver shouting, swearing or rudely gesturing at them in the year to July 2021.

The survey also found about 6 per cent of Victorians had experienced another road user intentionally hurt or threaten to hurt them or others with them, or intentionally damage or attempt to damage the vehicle they were in.

Monash University Accident Research Centre aggressive driving expert Amanda Stephens said stressors leading to angry or aggressive behaviour on the roads were likely to increase around the festive season.

“We don’t leave these at the car door, they travel with us and shape what we do behind the wheel,” Dr Stephens said.

“It may be travel delays, congestion or the behaviour of other drivers that make us angry and aggressive.

“These are likely to increase as we are all out and about leading into Christmas.”

She said there was no “single solution to trying to stay calm on the roads”.

“At MUARC, we have found that some people find music helps, others use better journey management – leave with plenty of time, choose non-congested routes,” Dr Stephens said.

“For others, rethinking the situation or their response helps – ‘Will this matter in five minutes?’

“My favourite is personalising the other driver: ‘What if they were your mum, a loved one or your kids?’ ”