Roads of rage as motorists see red

MOST drivers have experienced road rage in the past year, a new study has found.

The NRMA surveyed more than 2000 members in NSW and the ACT and found 70 per cent had been involved in or had witnessed a road rage incident over the past 12 months. One in four people said children had been present at the time.

An even higher percentage (79 per cent) said they had witnessed the behaviour in other drivers.

Road rage was defined by those responding as physically assaulting another driver, getting out of a vehicle to confront another driver, tailgating and yelling.

“It’s consistently a serious issue,” NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said.

“The numbers are stubbornly high and unfortunately have not gone down since last time we did a similar survey.”

In Sydney, the proportion of people who said they had witnessed road rage incidents was higher than the rest of the state at 82 per cent.

The NRMA warned it was easier than ever to get caught for abusive behaviour on the road because dashboard cameras and smartphones were becoming more prevalent.

“Every bystander with a smartphone is now a recording witness, every dashcam an extension of the law,” Mr Khoury said.

“You are now more chance of getting caught and charged and your embarrassing behaviour featuring extensively on the news and across social media.”

The NRMA asked its members what good behaviour on the road meant to them.

Almost all said they appreciated when other drivers indicated before merging or changing lanes and weren’t using their phones.