Kia, Hyundai and Mazda owners are perceived as the most passive drivers on Australian roads, with Holden owners the most confrontational, according to a new road rage survey.
When asked what brand of cars had the most aggressive drivers behind the wheel, respondents ranked Holden top, followed by German luxury automaker BMW and US auto giant Ford in third.
European brands Mercedes Benz and Audi rounded out the top five.
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Kia, Hyundai and Mazda owners were judged to be owned by the least confronational drivers in the country by insurance company Budget Direct's 2021 Road Rage report.
The report claimed Australian drivers in 2021 appeared to be angrier than they were last year.
At least one in three Aussies admitted to being involved in a road rage incident in the last 12 months, compared to one in four in the 2020 report.
Less than one per cent of respondents confessed to have damaged or attempted to damage another driver's vehicle.
Similarly, less than one per cent of respondents admitted they had threatened to intentionally hurt another driver.
Abused with gestures or being shouted at was the most common act of road rage, the survey found.
When drivers were asked why they had lost their cool, there were no surprises in the answers.
Dangerous driving, including being cut off, easily ranked number one, with acts of direct aggression in second, and rudeness – such as failing to indicate or wave when being let in – a close third.
Traffic delays also caused anger levels to rise.
A small number of men were more likely to drive in an aggressive fashion if they had a passenger with them in the car, the survey found.
Marginally more men, 38 per cent, reported they were the victim of road rage than women, on 33 per cent.
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Toggle the tabs in the interactive graphic below to learn more.
Research by Queensland University of Technology behavioural scientist Dr Lauren Shaw in 2018 found drivers often act aggressively to try to teach other road users a lesson.
There is a body of research which suggests drivers who act out road rage believe - often mistakenly - they are superior drivers.
An Australian study of 220 licensed drivers found that along with driving anger, the driver's bias towards their own illusion of control predicted aggressive behaviour.
Boxed off inside the privacy of a car, people are also prone to more likely act in a threatening manner which they otherwise would not if placed face-to-face with another person.
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Words: Mark Saunokonoko
Interactive graphics: Tara Blancato
