Road rage 'makes driving worse'

01 September 2010
Nearly 22% of motorists are annoyed by people making phone calls while driving

Motorists who suffer from road rage have been urged to calm down and maintain self control, with more than a quarter of drivers admitting anger affects their driving competence.

According to a survey by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), seven in 10 drivers admit to getting angry with other road users.

As many as 28% of motorists find tailgating the most provocative and annoying behaviour, while nearly 22% complain of drivers making phone calls while behind the wheel.

Other nuisances reported by motorists include hogging the centre lane, aggressive driving, failure to indicate and bad lane discipline.

A third of the 1,500 drivers polled admit to reading or sending text messages while waiting in a queue of traffic, while nearly 30% pick up a hands-free phone call.

Over a third of motorists listed passengers as the top distraction, followed by billboards and other advertising, watching out for safety cameras, mobile phones, in-car entertainment and satnavs.

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