Road rage can endanger drivers and their passengers, raise their blood pressure and their insurance costs — and, in greater than a couple of cases, kill them. Such are the sobering findings of a detailed survey conducted by the Insurify group, who say that drivers who’re cut off by one other automobile are almost definitely to react angrily on the road.
These “offended” behaviors or reactions may include honking, cursing, blocking the offending driver from changing lanes, or in rare cases, confronting one other driver or forcing her or him off the road. And these confrontations stands out as the least of it, Insurify reports: Road rage shooting deaths greater than doubled between 2018 and 2022, accounting for 141 deaths and greater than 413 injuries in 2022, the survey says.
Greater than a thousand American drivers in america responded to the survey, with greater than half expressing behaviors consistent with road rage (but only 41 percent admitting to having road rage sometimes). Insurify also analyzed essentially the most recent road rage statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and National Safety Council (NSC).
Men, the report found, are 20 percent more likely than women to yell or curse at other drivers — banging on the steering wheel is a reasonably common response. Perhaps surprisingly, women were barely more likely than men to specific one particularly dangerous road rage behavior: forcing one other driver off the road.
So far as relating age to inciting road rage behavior, Gen X drivers between 43 and 58 are more likely to have interaction in that. But more millennials (52 percent) admit to road rage behaviors than another age group.
While being cut off was the highest reason for drawing anger — it had an “anger rating” of three.6 out of 5 — listed here are among the other more infuriating behaviors:
- Drivers weaving in traffic (anger rating 3.2);
- Being stuck in traffic (3);
- Drivers not using turn signals (2.9);
- Driving slower than the speed limit (2.8);
- Other drivers making gestures (2.8).
Regarding insurance rates, the group says that reckless driving offenses often overlap with road rage behaviors. Drivers with a reckless driving record spend a mean of $851 more annually for a full-coverage policy than those with a clean record — second highest only to drivers with a DUI record.
The Insurify report offers some advice to counter road-rage triggers. Seeing a psychotherapist is one. Also, “taking no less than one deep breath immediately after a difficult traffic situation can greatly reduce the chance of maximum road rage behaviors,” Mark Bingel-McKillips, a licensed clinical social employee, is quoted within the report. “Deep respiration has a neurophysiological impact on the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn stress response of the brain.”
You possibly can learn more from the complete report here.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
