Has anyone else noticed the sheer amount of road rage about recently?

[dinoma]

I do live in a city and one of the biggest issues is cars park on both sides meaning there’s only room for single traffic meaning a lot of cars meeting and reversing.

I have noticed the anger and rage, mouthing obscenities and hand gestures because someone else happens to be there.

I get the inconvenience of having to pull in or reverse back but I would never feel the need to aggressively stick my fingers up (or worse) or mouth something at another driver for simply using the same road.

I’m sure these people aren’t like this in their homes or businesses.

It can be bad. For me it's seeing lots of very normal driving like someone slowing down and indicating to turn right and the car behind beeping at them for the inconvenience. I think people are still angry after the COVID years.

How do you mean, people are still angry after the covid years?

I think when people stop socialising and interacting as normal it does something to your brain. It's like other people around you are less real and I think that can make us a lot ruder, especially to strangers. I've noticed a lot more poor behaviour in public since then and I think some people have lost their social awareness.

Yes definitely, and I agree it got worse after Covid and hasn't really improved. I think there's a huge amount of pent up anger in this country about how we were treated - in particular how the PM and some of the government and their staff behaved, while we were all doing the right thing (which WAS the right thing) and isolating ourselves.

This anger is now manifesting in road rage, less social cohesion, less socialising generally, and hatred towards whoever social media algorithms nudge people towards blaming.

Lockdown was for a few months on and off 5+ years ago, and don't forget people were off all ovwe the place eating out 'to help out' and going to beaches and parks and all sorts. I promise it didn't give people road rage 5 years later! 😅

Tbh people drive like utter twats so I’m not surprised more people get rage!

I think that lockdown was more isolating for some people than others. For example we didn't have anyone to be our bubble (was that what it was called?). Some people lived alone barely seeing others. A lot of community groups disappeared and were replaced long term with virtual groups or drop in type things being turned into appointments only reducing third spaces.

Some of us haven't bounced back and it's been a long process working through it, or not in the case of a lot of the angry folk.

A lot of people are on edge, a lot. It's 99.9% of the time a reflection of that.

I think that’s a really interesting connection, with Covid. I do feel we haven’t processed what Covid and the management of the pandemic did to us as a society.

Personally, I think there are a lot of very stressed people around who are living on their nerves, and are very quick to beep at other drivers and rev past them.

Has anyone else noticed that indicating seems to have become optional?!

I’m a grumpier person in general when stressed. I think many people are stressed.

I had a guy up my exhaust this morning. Entering a 30mph section and slowed down on the approach, and he was gesticulating at me. I didn't realise the 30 zone only applied to me!!

People had family that died alone, gave birth alone, lost their businesses and in some cases their homes. Covid Privilege is a thing it seems.

For what it's worth I don't think it's just COVID but I think that was an accelerator. I think a lack of meaningful social interaction with others makes people have less social awareness or consideration for others, it's like a de-skilling. If you don't have those skills and then suddenly you're sharing an awkward bit of road with others it can come out in rude and self-centred behaviour.

Have you seen the thread where the OP doesn’t understand zipper merging and so tries to block anyone merging.

Stupidity, ignorance and stress are what I believe the biggest issues to be.

I think it's just all part of the decline of the UK in general.

Maybe. I try to counteract any road anger by being a more thoughtful driver. Letting people in or letting people out, even if they’ve been aggressive or annoying. Let them. It does seem to help a bit, bring temperatures down. I’ve noticed that it’s a bit infectious.

We don't live in the UK any more, but anger is the first thing we notice when we come back. Road rage is terrible, but in general people seem so impatient and on the verge of anger.

There are a lot of bloody awful drivers on the roads though so sometimes I too feel the rage.

Yesterday following someone along a 50 mph route who kept dropping speed and then accelerating and then slowing, then braking if something came the other way, then speeding up again, then dropping to 25. I did want to stop them and yell PICK A GODDAMN SPEED.

I'm generally quite a patient person but there seems to have been an increase in overly-hesitant drivers on the road. I don't know if this is ageing population or something else, and I would never really give anyone any hassle but it does get my blood pressure rising some days!

I also noticed driving standards deteriorate rapidly after the lockdowns. I've often said that the very best one can expect on the roads now is discourtesy, and it's often a lot worse than that.

Yes to indicating appearing to be optional now, especially at roundabouts where it would actually improve traffic flow.

My other pet peeve at the moment is cars waiting to pull out at junctions from side roads where two cars can easily sit side by side. But instead of lining up with the central line when wanting to turn right they stop right in the middle, so no-one can turn left. Also, waiting to turn right into a side street, they actually move over to the left so nothing can get past them on the near side.

Driving in the uk is very stressful.

I live in a different country and my blood pressure is always up after a couple of hours driving when i come home. The volume of traffic is huge, constant speed cameras, infrastructure problems. Hell, even overhanging trees so you can't read the signposts. Also life is just more hectic in the uk and it is socially acceptable to assume that everyone else is a shit driver.

My personal bugbears are motorway driving where the speed limit changes every 5 miles and 7-exit roundabouts that need at least 2 signposts plus road markings so that you know which lane to get in. Woe betide you if you get in the wrong one!

I was just going to mention that thread, and it’s far from unusual.

There are regular threads on here and on the driving subreddits from people who’ve had crashes or near misses and genuinely don’t seem to grasp what they did wrong.

Absolutely agree, I was just thinking about the other day. Not nice to see, particularly with my DS about to start learning to drive.

I am relatively calm person but driving standards seemed to have slippped tbh and it gives me rage.
Pick a fucking lane.
Don't go considerably under speed limit. If there is no one ahead of you and 20 cars behind you, you are a problem.
Indicate ffs. Indicating is not optional!
It wasn't that bad a while ago.
I am seeing more people having to do hundred point turns (slight exaggeration) or not being able to keep in their lane and going over to another than ever before.

Not at all, I went through horrific things due to covid and have been left with a permanent disability due to it, but I'm not going about with road rage 5 years later. At some point lockdown is going to have to stop being used as an excuse for every social ill!

I wash my back window when someone's on my bumper.