Motorists’ anger and stress level on the rise

SURVEY FINDS PET PEEVES THAT MAKE US FRUSTRATED

DRIVERS are considerably more frustrated by the actions of others than they were a year ago, a survey has found.

About 90 per cent of the motorists surveyed reported feeling stressed or angry while driving, up from 6 per cent a year ago.

For Leicestershire motorists, middle hogging was top of their pet peeves.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for road safety charity Brake, said: “The past year has been really challenging for people all across the UK and our research shows driving behaviour may also have been affected by the pandemic.”

Drivers surveyed by the Mercury said causes of frustration included people not sticking to the speed limit and failing to indicate before turning or exiting a roundabout.

Rich Pedley cited: “People who use their mobiles, people who don’t indicate, people who think that because they have indicated they can pull out regardless.”

Gillian Foster said: “People who think they have the right to cut in front of you just because they are indicating.

“People who stop completely at the road humps, people who turn corners without indicating they are turning, people who cut you up at roundabouts and people who play music too loud so they can be heard in the next county.” Paul Harris said his biggest source of frustration lane was: “Somebody who pulls out in front of you then continues at a slower speed than I was doing.”

Brad Loach said: “People that don’t say cheers for giving way, just a little wave of the hand is all it takes.”

Driving instructor Prab Chauhan, from Knighton, Leicester, said he used to get angry when stuck in traffic.

He said: “For me, it was getting stuck in a traffic jam or being cut up.”

The 54-year-old said stress and anger “makes you lose concentration and focus”. To combat this, he said: “Now I take a couple of deep breaths and look for something I can be grateful for.

“If you do get provoked, stop and get your calm back before carrying on.

“Leave plenty of time for any situations. Be safe when driving and make it fun, not a chore.”

Joshua said: “Every time you get behind the wheel, you are responsible for a machine with the capacity to cause catastrophic injury and death, so we urge all drivers to be aware of their moods and do all they can to minimise the impact of stress and anger.”