Road rage incidents rising: NRMA survey

An NRMA survey has found 40 per cent of NSW and ACT drivers have been verbally abused by other motorists, and 21 per cent threatened or physically attacked.

Forty-eight per cent of drivers exposed to some form of discourteous driving or aggressive behaviour feared for their safety.

Tailgating, failing to let other drivers merge lanes or hogging the right hand lane all caused the red mist to descend.

"Sadly, all too often an aggressive beep of the horn or a four letter word screamed out the window may escalate into a dangerous situation and spiral out of control," said NRMA president Wendy Machin.

Of the 1500 motorists surveyed by the motoring group, 69 per cent had been tailgated and just over half had another driver intentionally cut in front of them.

In a bid to combat road rage, the NRMA is planning to put up signs urging drivers to be nice to each other.

The peak motoring body is inviting people to come up with "courtesy messages" that will be displayed on the nine electronic signs that will be erected in NSW and the ACT.

"Being a courteous driver isn't just about us all feeling warm and fuzzy - it might just help reduce incidents of road rage and make our roads safer," Ms Machin said in a statement.

"We want drivers to be positive towards each other on the road and it can be as simple as the good old-fashioned wave to say 'thank you' when someone lets you in their lane.

"Or leaving plenty of room between you and the car in front of you."

The NRMA's survey also found that 30 per cent thought most road rage incidents occurred during peak hour.

But 90 per cent of motorists claimed that they let other drivers in and the overwhelming majority thought of themselves as courteous motorists.

Interestingly, over 26 per cent of motorists that have driven overseas believe local drivers are less courteous that their counterparts overseas.

AAP