Prevalence of aggressive driving ‘troublesome:’ RBC Insurance

One in four Canadian drivers say they are “likely to take some kind of action” if they witness another driver committing what they characterize as a “pet peeve,” such as using a mobile device, failing to signal or following too closely, according to a new survey from RBC.

In the survey — conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of RBC Insurance — 95% of respondents “have strong pet peeves while driving,” RBC stated in a press release.

“Drivers who use their cell phone while driving (55%) top the list, followed closely by tailgating (45%) and not indicating lane changes or turns (39%),” RBC stated.

“When witnessing a pet peeve being committed on the road, 25% of Canadian drivers are likely to take some kind of action,” RBC added. “One-in-10 say that they will angrily yell at the offender, while others say they will commit common pet peeves themselves such as tailgating, driving more quickly to get in front of the offender, slowing down or braking purposely or cutting them off.”

The survey, of 1,010 Canadians licensed to drive, is considered accurate to within 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The results “were weighted to ensure that the sample’s age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the latest Census information.”

RBC also broke down results by age. An RBC spokesperson wrote, in an e-mail to Canadian Underwriter, that it defines younger drivers as those aged 18-34, middle-aged drivers as those aged 35-54 and older drivers as 55 and older.

“Older licensed Canadians (68 per cent) are more likely to identify cell phone use as their top driving pet peeve; whereas younger drivers cite tailgating/following too closely as their number one driving annoyance,” RBC stated in the release. “In fact, only 42% of younger drivers list cell phone use as one of their pet peeves.”

Of the younger drivers, 16% of respondents said they “will angrily yell at the culprit if they see a pet peeve being committed,” RBC noted.

“It’s troublesome to see that one-in-four Canadians exhibit some form of aggressive driving behaviour,” stated Natalie Dupuis, RBC Insurance’s senior product manager of auto, in a release. “It’s important for drivers to not only realize the impact of their actions and avoid these types of responses, but to practice safe driving behaviours while on the road.”

RBC advises drivers to watch for pedestrians and cyclists, get a good night’s rest, not to follow too closely, check fluids and tire pressure, put cellphones out of reach and to avoid road rage.

“When encountering an aggressive driver, calm yourself down, take deep breaths and don’t let the road enrage you,” RBC stated. “Do not get angry, gesture or yell back, or reciprocate the high risk driving behaviour.”