The road situation in South Africa is undoubtedly a huge problem. Accident numbers grow year on year, while the department of transport sit on the fence making nonsensical statements that have little impact on solving the problem. There is no plan in place and there is no drive from traffic police to remove unroadworthy vehicles and drivers from our roads.
Road rage incidents are also on the up, a fact to which I’m sure most Johannesburg motorists can attest. But we’re not alone, as the following piece tells the story of road rage in Europe, where Germans are the most likely to kick up a fuss on their daily commute. MD
From African News Agency:
Berlin (dpa) – Flashing the finger in an obscene gesture, shouting abuse and general road rage are more common in Germany than in many other European countries, according to a new Europe-wide survey.
Two-thirds of Germans asked (67 per cent) said they had at some time used abusive gestures or words in a road traffic situation, the Ipsos survey revealed. The analysis showed that Germans got more worked up behind the wheel than the average 56 per cent score measured in Europe as a whole.
More than a third of German respondents (34 per cent) said they deliberately indulged in back bumper riding in a bid to put pressure on cars hogging the fast lane on the motorway or vehicles perceived to be in the way. The EU average was 32 per cent.
Eighteen per cent said they were prepared to get out of the vehicle during an altercation – the EU average here is 15 per cent.
When it comes to abiding by road regulations, the Germans turned out to be no better than average. Ninety-three per cent said they often ignored speed limits, 60 per cent drove without slowing down through roadworks despite posted speed restrictions and 59 per cent could not be bothered to use the indicator when changing lanes – all of these values equated roughly to the EU average.
Seven out of 10 motorists in Germany (73 per cent) admitted they failed to keep an adequate distance to a vehicle travelling in front. The EU average here was 65 per cent.
One in three drivers said he or she had almost fallen asleep at the wheel on a least one occasion. Anti-fatigue measures appear generally unpopular and the average motorist was happy to travel for an average of three hours and 48 minutes before taking a break from driving.
The shortcomings highlighted in the survey did nothing to dent the self-confidence of drivers interviewed. A total of 97 per cent of German drivers believed they drove “attentively.”
Meanwhile 81 per cent described their behaviour at the wheel as “placid” while 57 per cent classed their standard of driving as “considerate”.
Around 10,000 people took part in the survey on responsible driving in Europe, around 1,000 of them from Germany.