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This year seems to be an unprecedented one for weather with Wimbledon fortnight bathed in glorious sunshine rather than the downpour that we have come to expect.
By UK standards we have seen some hot weather lately which is great if you're on holiday but not so good if you're at work. For drivers in particular, high temperatures can lead to added stress levels and seem to make usually calm drivers aggravated.
Road rage appears to be a growing problem around the world and the UK is no different with the RAC warning drivers to avoid confrontation, stating that road rage is on the increase. Worryingly this is a view shared by the Environmental Transport Association whose research shows the scale of the problem.
In London around 3% of road incidents ended in violence which eqautes to 180,000 instances. It is a similar story across the UK with the North, South, Midlands and Wales posting figures of between one and three per cent. The issue is even worse in Scotland with 104,000 drivers involved in road rage incidents out of total of 2.6 million.
My attention was drawn by a recent incident in Bradford which I'm sure shocked the nation as much as me. A 65-year-old man and his elderly wife were beaten by four men after they clipped the wing mirror of a black Audi A3 leaving the couple visibly battered and bruised.
With instances of violence rising, drivers need to calm down and stop acting so aggressively. The findings from the ETA are a clear indicator that too many of us are getting caught up in confrontation. This is undoubtedly making driving a daunting experience for some drivers as the findings show that many motorists said driving was the biggest stress in their lives and up to 18% admitted changing routes to feel safer.
In response to this, driving defensively is the best way to go and in reality it isn't going to lose you much time and provides a range of benefits. You will be less likely to get caught up in this type of confrontation, your chances of an accident are less and the fuel and wear and tear costs for your vehicle will fall. Enjoy the summer and the sun that comes with it but make sure you keep cool when driving, avoiding trouble and never instigating it.
After all, no one likes a bully, fortunately a view shared by the police.
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