Death by disrespectful driving
800 lives are lost on Britain's roads through accidents caused by road rage or disrespectful driving, and £35 of each of our annual motor insurance premiums pays for these accidents, according to a report from AXA.
Leading UK insurer, AXA, has launched findings of a report this week 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 and additional premium.
In total, the company believes many hundreds of lives and nearly £1bn (£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.
The calculations are based on research 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.
Over the last year, motorists have seen premiums rise rapidly - 11.5% in the three months to June 2010 alone. As well as the costs AXA calculates for disrespectful driving, the British motorist already pays an estimated £30 per premium for uninsured drivers and £44 on their overall household insurance bill to cover fraud.
Craig Staniland, AXA Insurance director for motor says: "We are very concerned that a continued lack of respect on the road will drive up premiums further. Personal injury costs are escalating as it is - if we can cut back the number of accidents involving PI through a less aggressive and more considerate approach to the way we drive then it will be to the benefit of all drivers.
"The downside is that if we don't make some changes then premiums will continue to rise. In turn this may lead to more drivers opting not to insure because of price which will add yet more to our premiums. It is a serious issue that needs to be addressed."
According to psychologist, Peter Marsh, disrespectful, aggressive driving can be the cause of an accident in itself but also the negative emotions created by this type of driving can cause other drivers to become irrational and make mistakes they would otherwise not make.
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.
Additional research findings revealed that:
6% of those questioned admitted that they themselves had been disrespectful to another person in the moments before an accident with one in five of these admitting that they had been abusive to other drivers before the accident;
Urban areas were seen as the place where people were most likely to demonstrate road rage or disrespectful driving - twice as likely as on motorways which were in second place;
Other drivers' behaving erratically was the thing that motorists most commonly cited as disrespectful behaviour on the roads followed by ignoring road signs/rules and speeding. Abusive behaviour (footnote 4) was also listed;
Around 20% of drivers were frightened or intimidated by the driver of the other vehicle after the accident had occurred rather than just before;
It took those involved in road accidents on average more than 18 hours to get over how the immediate emotions of the accident made them feel;
Around 13% said an experience of disrespectful driving had made them less likely to drive in the future.
Tina Shortle, marketing director for AXA Insurance said: "Disrespectful motoring in the UK seems to be reaching pandemic proportions but we don't believe drivers really understand the potential consequences of their behaviour behind the wheel. Our research shows that a lack of respect means more victims and a higher financial cost to all drivers. Behaviour such as road rage is extremely dangerous and needs to be dealt with urgently.
"Our research shows that those who are angry or frightened are often unable to concentrate behind the wheel and this is a relevant factor in many accidents. A return to values of common decency and good manners could save hundreds of lives and a great deal of personal anguish."
Leading motoring psychologist, Peter Marsh said: "The AXA study highlights clearly the powerful psychological forces at work when we get behind the wheel of a car.
"Our cars may be safer than before and our roads increasingly designed to reduce accidents but unless we recognise and deal with the strong emotional aspects of motoring, the factors that give rise to uncharacteristic belligerence and sheer bloody-mindedness, we may never be able to reduce much further the number of people who die unnecessarily on Britain's highways."
Join our campaign for respectful driving at axarespectontheroad.com.