Survey: 70% of motorists driven to road rage

SEVEN out of 10 Irish motorists have been driven to road rage while behind the wheel, a new study has revealed.

The worrying figures show more drivers than ever are being pushed to breaking point as Ireland’s roads grow more and more congested in the run-up to Christmas.

The findings of the survey, commissioned by Setanta Insurance, show a significant increase in the incidence of drivers losing their temper behind the wheel.

A similar study conducted in August 2007 revealed three in 10 motorists had admitted to having had feelings of road rage.

Carlow is named as road rage capital, with almost a third of drivers admitting being unable to stop themselves shouting, swearing and gesturing at others on the road, even in front of their children.

A staggering 80% of Carlow drivers admitted to some form of road rage.

Louth was named as having Ireland’s least angry drivers, as 35% said they have never lost their cool.

Founder and chief executive of Setanta Insurance, Mike Matthews, said he was shocked by the results of the survey and called on the Department of Transport to wake up to the issue and educate drivers on the dangers of losing their temper.

“It is clear from our research that road rage is a real and growing problem, and for everybody’s sake this has got to be stamped-out.

“Road rage is defined as an irrational surge of anger towards other motorists and is often displayed by those you’d least expect.

“Whatever the reason it is clearly a symptom of today’s high-stress driving environment and the changes in society that make people more self centric and less considerate of others,” he said.

According to the research, the top reasons why motorists are driven over the edge include people driving too close or too slow, those who flash their lights so they can overtake and drivers who jump traffic jam queues.