Road rage, like rudeness "often isn't deliberately intended", according to transport commentator Conor Faughnan.
In 2021, the AA Motoring Panel conducted a survey of Irish drivers revealing that one-in-four Irish drivers have experienced a verbal altercation with another driver.
1% of the 8,200 respondents said their experience included physical violence.
Speaking to The Pat Kenny Show, Mr Faughnan said: “When you're in traffic, you're stuck and that can lead to stress and tension and two type-A personalities meet in that situation, and there's conflict.”
“When you're in the company of another person, there's a whole host of behaviours that you do for good manners to avoid an aggressive response,” he said.
“But when you're in private, if your least favourite politician appears on the news, you'll shout at the TV screen, you're not inhibited.
“So, in the car, you don't feel inhibited. You vent the frustration at the other driver; you don't think he's hearing you.”
Assault
Mr Faughnan said road rage has the potential to lead to physical violence.
“[A video] from Cork last year … you don't see what caused the incident, but one driver gets out of a car, approaches the car in front, pulls open the driver's door and assaults the driver,” he said.
“They don't get recorded as a road rage incident, that will get recorded as an assault.
“In the US where it's been studied, different place Pat, but there were 44 gun murders per month in 2021 arising from road rage or traffic incidents.
Mr Faughnan said in Ireland, the AA has reported instances of people throwing coffee cups at cars or cyclists kicking wing mirrors.
“If there are a million drivers on the move every morning, and if 99% of people are well behaved … that's still 10,000 people on the road this morning, who've got issues going on or are hot-tempered or not in a good frame of mind for driving.”
Cyclist and driver in altercation (Monika Wisniewska / Alamy Stock Photo)Cyclists
Mr Faughnan said over 90% of incidents involving road rage from cyclists are male cyclists.
“There are lots of examples of cyclists being aggressive towards motorists primarily, but often towards each other as well,” he said.
“A cyclist will sort of feel entitled not to be stuck in traffic, and when they are it can frustrate them.
“[Cyclists can] be self-righteous about it, sometimes you do see some disgraceful behaviours.”
Female in her 20s angry driving a car with road rage shouting at other motorists (Simon Dack / Alamy Stock Photo)Deescalate
Mr Faughnan said the solution to road rage would be a focus on de-escalation.
“How badly do you need the 10 feet of the length of a car?” he said.
“Maybe he's at 1%, he’s having a really bad morning for one reason or another. How important is it to you? Just let him go.
“You're angry with another car that stopped on a box and then the window rolls down and somebody gives you a smile and a wave and says sorry, and all the tension is dissolved from the situation.
“Rudeness is seldom done deliberately.”
