What's driving road rage?

What do you think when you hear the term 'road rage'? Is it aggression when someone cuts you off or annoyance when a driver in the right lane insists on driving under the speed limit?

While anger is a normal part of the human experience, 'road rage' is a term that's become popularised to describe anger and aggression that occurs specifically when driving.

What are the road rage statistics?

For a nation known as being easy-going, Australians seems to transform into spitting fist-shakers when behind the wheel.

The NRMA's 2024 Courteous Driving and Distraction Survey, which included 1464 members, found 44 per cent of drivers in NSW and the ACT had been the victim of some form of road rage in the past year. Perhaps most alarmingly, one fifth of those (21 per cent) had a child or children with them in the car at the time.

Almost one-quarter of drivers (24 per cent) admitted to road rage with men almost twice as likely to undertake the behaviour as women. The prevalence of road rage on the state’s roads was highlighted by the fact that 94 per cent of respondents have seen some form of aggressive behaviour in the last year.  

What driving habits irk us the most?

While getting behind the wheel when angry is never a good idea, occasionally that anger begins when the wheels are already in motion. Things that really made drivers’ blood boil were the types of problems we all experience today including:

1. Tailgating/erratic driving 
2. Failing to use an indicator
3. Drivers intentionally not letting you into a lane
4. Using a phone illegally
5. Slow drivers in the right hand lane
6. Failing to give way when required
7. Speeding in general
8. Not paying attention/distracted behind the wheel
9. Failing to stop at a stop sign/red light and;
10. Obscene gestures and/or verbal abuse.
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While it looks like a fair chunk of road rage triggers are caused by poor driving standards on our roads, it's important to remember that road rage is a choice for which you're responsible, and is a choice that shouldn't be blamed on the driving behaviours of others.

Related: Nine tips to be a better driver

Common forms of road rage

While swearing profusely about the IQ levels of people sharing the road might be seen as an acceptable form of venting, tailgating and the practice of brake checking people are not. According to the 2024 Courteous Driving and Distraction Survey, motorists deem the following behaviours as types of road rage:

1. Tailgating another driver,
2. Beeping horn at another driver,
3. Gesturing with hands at another driver,
4. Purposefully cutting in front of another driver,
5. Yelling/shouting abuse,
6. Threatening another driver,
7. Getting out of the vehicle to confront another driver, and;
8. Stalking another driver.
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While surveyed drivers said road rage had led to them to feeling annoyed, stressed, anxious, intimidated, angry and scared, only 2 per cent said they reported the incident to police.

However, with the emergence of dash cams and smart phones, motorists who let road rage get out of hand can easily be in someone's lens. The research also found that almost one-in-five drivers (19 per cent) now have dashboard cameras installed in their vehicles, with five per cent having recorded bad driving behaviour on their phone.

Of these, 16 per cent gave the phone footage to Police, increasing the risk of getting caught.

How not to be swept up in driving anger

1. Give a friendly wave when someone lets you in
2. Stealing someone's parking spot is a no-no
3. Always indicate so other drivers know what you're doing
4. Unnecessary horn beeping is never appreciated
5. Refrain from obscene gestures and verbal abuse
6. Let other drivers in when they're trying to merge
7. Don't tailgate fellow drivers
8. Don't block intersections
9. Always give way when required.
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Stay cool and you’ll have a better chance of keeping your car and other motorists in good stead, ultimately arriving safely at your desired destination.