Fourteen per cent of drivers in India claim they have been physically assaulted or were at the receiving end of a weapon wielded by other drivers in the past 12 months, according to a new survey by Synovate.

Over 4,000 driving respondents in 10 markets were asked whether they have experienced various acts on the road ranging from the irritating - persistent honking of horns — to actual physical violence.

The study also asked respondents about their own aggressive driving behaviour, as well as the primary vehicle they drive.

The markets surveyed were Greece, France, the US, Brazil, Malaysia, India, Korea, Taiwan, South Africa and the UK.

South African drivers led all the markets in being constantly blinded by flashing headlights (64%) and in experiencing aggressive and/or threatening driving behaviour (67%).

Eight out of 10 drivers in the UK received rude gestures and/or verbal insults, the highest among all markets surveyed. Sixty-seven per cent of their Greek counterparts, meanwhile, said they were barraged by persistent blaring of horns.



What behaviours have you experienced from other drivers in the past 12 months?




The term 'road rage' has loosely defined all anti-social behaviour on the road, although Dr. Barry J. Elliott, an Australian research and communication psychologist, argues in a 1999 paper that it should only be confined to "intentional acts of violence and assault, and that the issue is a criminal matter, not a road safety concern." His paper can be found on www.drivers.com.

Alok Shanker, managing director of Synovate India, says altercations with other drivers can get physical but it stops with the arrival of police or onlookers. "Drivers are rarely assaulted unless pedestrians or the general public are injured in an accident," he says. "Then the public take the law into their own hands and the driver is taught a lesson on the spot." In some extreme cases, he says, an enraged crowd "can smash the doors and windows with iron rods or other items taken out of the vehicle".

Respondents from Greece, South Africa and the UK experience and express the highest levels of anti-social driving behaviour. Ninety-seven per cent of South African drivers said they have experienced at least one of the behaviours described in the list, the highest among all markets surveyed. "South Africans are aggressive on the roads because of high speed driving with poor law enforcement, despite increased traffic congestion," observes Albert McLean, managing director of Synovate South Africa. "The minibus taxis are a law unto themselves and if you hoot at them or show any objection you get the necessary sign language."

Meanwhile nearly half (47%) of drivers in the US said rude gestures and/or verbal insults were the most experienced form of anti-social behaviour on the road.

"Increasingly this is all about space," remarks Scott Miller, global CEO of Synovate Motoresearch. "As Americans continually move out of cities to escape congestion, your vehicle becomes your space. Let's just say that drivers get very emotional when their personal space is threatened."

"What's interesting is how few actually get out of the car to settle things on the spot," Miller continues. "It appears they are also only comfortable or brave enough to make those gestures from within that protected space."

Not surprisingly there is a large gap between experienced negative behaviour and expressed or directed behaviour — it seems others only do it to us, but we certainly don't do it to others. The gap is the highest in Malaysia and Taiwan (60% and 64%, respectively), and the smallest in South Africa at 35%.

Equally interesting is the claim of six out of 10 markets that aggressive driving behaviour is most likely to occur while driving for leisure, not on the commute to or from work which would normally be considered more stressful. This appears to be especially true for UK respondents, with seven out of 10 claiming they've had a bad experience while on a leisurely drive.

In most of the countries surveyed, a mid- or full-sized car is the most common primary means of transportation (38% to 59% share of all primary vehicles). This is not the case in Brazil which has more small cars at 65%, and India and Taiwan which have more motorcycles at 34% and 63%, respectively.