Road rage survey highlights prevalence of drivers' bad behaviour

A recent study by NRMA revealed that 71 per cent of its members had experienced road rage, with an alarming 79 per cent having witnessed it among other drivers.

Wagga man Stephen Wright, who works at Graeme Hull Smash Repairs, said he'd seen the resulting damage first hand.

"We had to fix up one car where a gentleman pulled out of South City shops and went down Pinaroo Drive, and because he said he was in no rush and drove under the speed limit, another car overtook him, swerved back in front, and hit the right corner of his car," he said.

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Outside of repairs, Mr Wright said he often saw anger-fueled incidents on his drive home from work.

"Driving through the lights at Stanley Street, everyone has to get into the one lane, and a lot of people come flying down the edge trying to get ahead or squeeze in front," he said.

"It's impatience, and there's been several incidents because of it, it's a really dangerous intersection."

The NRMA's Road Rage and Courtesy Driving survey of NSW and the ACT did find that road rage was witnessed less frequently in rural areas, but was not far off regional and metro roads with 81 per cent of respondents witnessing the behaviour.

Drivers are being warned of the risks of getting caught behaving badly, with video footage capturing more and more incidents.

Wagga Car Radio and Hi-Fi co-manager Cameron Storrar said sales of dash cams were continually rising.

"There has been a definite rise in the purchase of dashcams, particularly for new vehicles," he said.

"It's almost become more of a necessity now, and we typically hear drivers want them to capture possible accidents or to monitor parked vehicles.

"The fact is though, there are more 'eyes' out there now on the roads because of it so you never know when that footage could come in handy to help out another driver or yourself."

While road rage can vary in severity from a simple beep of the horn through to personal threats and vehicle damage, the message remains the same: "Don't antagonise".

Riverina Police District Detective Inspector Adrian Telfer said anyone can fall victim to the offence, but there were a few steps to take to reduce the risk of a full-blown outburst of anger.

"The most important thing you can do is not to escalate the situation, don't antagonise the person," he said.

"These incidents, when serious, are considered an emergency too so call Triple Zero when it is safe for you to do so."

Detective Inspector Telfer said, while it can be easier said than done in the moment, it was important to record details.

"Try and take down their vehicle registration, the make and model of the car, even if you didn't have any physical damage come out of the encounter, the more details the better," he said.

"Taking details helps police investigate the incident and track down the person responsible."

On the other side of the issue, short temper can be a driving force of road rage, which one Wagga counsellor said needed to be addressed.

Hope and Resilience Counselling's John Dodwell, who is trained in anger management, said anger is often a sign "something isn't right".

"It is a dominant emotion and one which does need to be expressed, but it needs to be expressed appropriately," he said.

"We have to look at why we are angry and what other emotions we might be suppressing instead."

Mr Dodwell said there were a number of basic tips to support a healthy range of emotions and to keep a level temper.

"Practicing things such as mindfulness, meditation, prayer, and exercise can all help," he said.

"It's also valuable to be able to take responsibility for your emotions and not blame others for the way you are feeling or reacting."

Support was available to those in need, according to Mr Dodwell, which was important to seek as opposed to "bandaid solutions".

"At the end of the day, we must remember that anger is a valid emotion, it isn't good or bad, but you must be careful how you express it," he said.

"Assault or road rage is not the answer, but do not repress that anger otherwise it will erupt like Mount Vesuvius."

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