Road Rage: What really gets Aussie drivers fired up behind the wheel

There are few things on this planet that can get someone fired up, quite like driving a car.

As comedian Louie CK points out, when the most mild-mannered, kind-hearted old lady gets behind the wheel – even they feel as if they can say and do anything.

However, there are times when that anger and frustration is more than justified. For whatever reason Australian’s are notorious for their lack of courtesy on the roads and at times many drivers are simply oblivious.

Here are a few of our pet hates that get Aussie’s hot under the collar.

Merging

Aussie drivers, for the most part, seem to have no fundamental understanding of how to merge. As it turns out when two lanes come together to form one, the vehicle that is in front has the right of way.

Well, not in Australia. It seems merge points are simply an opportunity to speed ahead of your competition or simply block anyone from getting in front of you.

Failing to indicate when changing lanes

You would think that it wouldn’t take too much effort on behalf of the driver to simply flick the indicator when changing lanes. One of the quickest ways to annoy other motorists is to simply forget to indicate or even worse – deliberately avoid it.

Driving slowly in the outside lane

There’s an unwritten rule on Australian roads. If you’re going to drive in the outside lane you’d better be doing 10km over the speed limit. We certainly don’t condone speeding here at Cheap Car Insurance, but it seems that the quickest way to frustrate a driver behind you is to not be speeding in the outside lane.

Tailgating

For whatever reason, some drivers feel the need drive as close to the car in front of them as they possibly can. Conventional wisdom suggests that you should have a two-second gap between you and the car in front of you.

So if you’re one of those drivers intent on getting as close to the car in front of you as physically possible – it might be worth easing off on the accelerator for the sake of the sanity of other drivers.

Bad Parking

If you live in the suburbs you’ve probably never faced the anger and frustration that comes with endlessly circling the block looking for that elusive vacant spot along the street. A situation that’s all too common in the inner city and eastern suburbs of Sydney.

However, nothing can break a drivers spirit in the same way as a selfish parker taking up two parking spots, with a poorly positioned parking effort.

Be sure to take five seconds and look if you’re parked as well as you possibly could be.

Texting at lights

We all know that it’s illegal to use your phone while driving and in Australia that generally comes with a $500 fine. However, it’s all too common to see someone sitting at the lights and texting.

If you’re a ‘lights texter’ not only are you breaking the law, but you run the risk of missing the green – a sure fire way to send the cars behind you into an uncontrollable rage.

Road Rage Statistics

The vast amount of triggers for road rage, are due to inconsiderate drivers. Before taking your next car trip think about how you can be a more thoughtful driver on our roads.

And if not, here’s some food for thought…

• Aggressive driving is the cause of 66% of all traffic fatalities.
• Males under 20 are most likely to exhibit road rage.
• 50% of drivers that cop aggressive behaviour, like horn honking,  gestures, or tailgating admit to responding with aggressive behaviour themselves.
• 2% of drivers admit to trying to run an aggressive driver off the road.