Millennial and Gen Z drivers are the angriest on the roads, according to a new UK survey.

The UK Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) surveyed 2,000 motorists, asking them how prone they are to aggression and anger on the road.

On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, transport expert Conor Faughnan said one of the questions was around “sounding the horn in anger”.

“It turns out that your Millennials and Gen Zs are much more likely to do that than the older cohort,” he said. “Much more likely to do those angry gestures.”

“[IAM] are also corroborating it a bit by saying that dangerous driving convictions in the UK tend also to skew young."

Mr Faughnan said the survey does not convince him that driver behaviour has deteriorated over the years.

"Does this mean that Gen Z and millennials are inherently worse?” he said. “A bit grumpy; a bit ruder on the roads?

“I'm not really convinced by that. I think young drivers have always been the riskier cohort, whatever generation it is.”

Major triggers

Mr Faughnan said there are a number of “major triggers” for road-rage.

“One of them was slow drivers on the open road,” he said.

“80% of these respondents said that they had been the victim of aggressive tailgating, and I suspect that's true in Ireland as well.

“Now sometimes that's in the eye of the beholder […] the driver may not be being deliberately rude, but I do think it's a phenomenon.”

Young men

Mr Faughnan said Irish penalty points data doesn't really show Gen Z and Millennials being the standout offenders – but it does highlight an issue with young men.

“They're by far the highest risk takers and that just seems to be a facet of human psychology,” he said.

“When you're young and male, the way their body is built, the way your brain is built, you're much more inclined to overestimate your own ability and act with greater confidence than you should have and take risks.

“Even setting aside the young men, if you look at the population in general, it definitely still skews male, and it's not close - it's a two to one difference.

“Two thirds of all penalty points issued are issued to males.”

Mr Faughnan also reminded listeners to stay well lit up when walking or cycling early morning and on the commute home.

Listen back here:

Angry man yelling while driving. 12/09/22 Image: Tero Vesalainen / Alamy Stock Photo