Road rage highest in SA

2005-08-17 15:22

Johannesburg - South African motorists top the list in a study of road rage over 12 months in 10 countries.

And there is no sign of their aggressive behaviour abating.

"Eleven percent of South African drivers claim to have been at the receiving end of threatening behaviour in the past 12 months," according to research company Synovate's report.

"This means the aggressor got out of the vehicle to confront them."

The countries surveyed were South Africa, Greece, France, the US, Brazil, Malaysia, India, Korea, Taiwan and the UK.

There were more than 4 000 respondents and "all the markets showed significant levels of aggression on the road".

Sixty-seven per cent of those interviewed reportedly experienced some aggressive or threatening behaviour directed at them in the past 12 months.

South Africa had the highest figure, with the UK next and Greece not far behind.

Stay in their vehicles

South African motorists tended to demonstrate their aggression from within their vehicle, using rude gestures, flashing headlights and hooting to indicate their anger, the report revealed.

Indeed, with the exception of Greece and India, most motorists preferred to stay within the (relative) safety of their vehicle.

"This is all about our personal space," said Scott Miller of Synovate.

"Invasion of this personal space is a serious step. What is interesting is how few people actually get out of the car to settle things on the spot."

Respondents also admitted to their own aggressive behaviour and again, South Africa was top of the list.

Sixty-two per cent of those interviewed admitted using aggressive behaviour on the road, from verbal insults to physical assault.

'Acceptable behaviour'

In the report, Albert McLean, Synovate's chief operating officer for Middle East/Africa, cautioned that the higher rate of admissions could itself be cause for concern.

"We may be witnessing indicators that aggression and road rage are becoming more acceptable social behaviour in South Africa.

"Acceptance of these behaviours will surely see an increase in aggression on our roads," McLean said.

South Africans generally behaved poorly on the roads during rush hour, while in the UK, Taiwan, France and the USA, aggression was more commonly reported when driving for leisure or errands.

"Given the reluctance of most South Africans to leave the safety of their vehicles, the incidence of road rage may be somewhat exaggerated.

"Nevertheless, South Africans are clearly extremely aggressive on the roads."

Lack of public transport

McLean said the absence of an effective public transport system contributed to the pressure on South African roads during the morning and evening commute.

"This is unlikely to abate, and along with it, the resulting aggression," he said.

The report defined the term "road rage" as "all anti-social behaviour on the road".

However, according to the report, Dr Barry J Elliott, an Australian psychologist, argued in a 1999 paper that it should only be confined to "intentional acts of violence and assault, and that the issue is a criminal matter, not a road safety concern".

Synovate is a market research company with 4500 employees in 44 countries.

Synovate in South Africa was formerly known as Proactive Insight.

- SAPA