Death by disrespectful driving.

A new report from UK insurer, AXA, calculates that 800 lives are lost on Britain’s roads through accidents caused by road rage or disrespectful driving, and nearly £1 billion (£945m) of premium could be saved if British motorists were to rid themselves of the aggression and general disrespect of their fellow drivers that is commonplace on our roads. AXA has launched findings of a report that illustrate the extent to which road rage or ‘disrespect’ on the UK’s roads costs drivers in terms of numbers of deaths a year. The nationwide independent survey reveals that almost four in ten drivers involved in the 222,100 accidents on British roads ever year say they were frightened or angered by other drivers in the critical moments before a crash. Of those, more than 20% said the inconsiderate driving had come in the form of speeding, almost a quarter said that others were driving erratically, and more than one in five said another driver had been ignoring road rules and signs. The calculations are based on research4 that shows 35% of drivers involved in more serious and costly accidents (those with a ‘personal injury’ element where someone is either killed or injured) were either made angry or frightened by another driver’s behaviour moments before the accident. Put simply, if these drivers were to drive better and more considerately then the number of deaths and premiums would come down. Research carried out earlier in the year by AXA found that 79% of drivers believe that British drivers are generally disrespectful to fellow road users, with 52% having been subjected to a ‘significant’ act of road rage – shouting and aggression rather than just a quick honk of the horn or a hand gesture. And 53% of drivers admit to sometimes behaving aggressively behind the wheel while nearly 20% will often behave in this way. The behaviours categorised by motorists as ‘disrespectful’ range from speeding, driving erratically and ignoring road signs to beeping a horn in anger, making offensive hand gestures, yelling, swearing and flashing headlights. (Author/publisher)