Recently one of my students, who was on a driving lesson with me at the time, experienced a shocking display of dangerous driving from the vehicle behind. While turning right at a mini roundabout in Knaresborough a car behind decided to overtake by going the wrong way around the roundabout then accelerated over a zebra crossing in the middle of the road. Not only did this endanger our safety but, had someone been crossing the zebra crossing, they’d have not stood a chance.
Dash camera footage
Most driving instructors, including myself, have front and back DashCams, both for our safety and insurance purposes. I had no hesitation in sending the footage to North Yorkshire Police who assured me they will be taking the matter further.
Aggression towards learner drivers should not be tolerated in our society. Learner drivers are someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, wife, husband and by the very nature of being a learner driver are one of our more vulnerable road users.
Sadly this is not an isolated incident.
A recent survey by Marmalade Insurance reported that 81% of learner drivers experience abuse or intimidation during lessons!
With roundabouts (61%) and traffic lights (32%) among the most common reported locations for the abuse, where quick decision making and concentration are required, both of which can be challenging for a learner driver. The effect of the abuse led to 72% of responders saying they made more mistakes as a result. So that show of aggressive behaviour is likely to cause more delay not less!
Who are the worst offenders?
Drivers in their 30s (67%) followed by 40-49 yr olds (59%) then 17-29 yr olds (41%), 50yr olds (30%), 60+ (14%).
How do driving instructors minimise the impact on other road users?
The vast majority of driving instructors are sympathetic to other road users, they won’t take learner drivers on roads they’re not ready for, they don’t want to inconvenience others, put our lives, or the lives of others in danger however, learners do make mistakes, they can take longer to get moving, or see the safe gap at a roundabout, especially when under pressure (either perceived or actual). At this point the instructor is likely to pull off/over to reassess skill level and make plans to improve before heading back out to try again.
What makes a driver think it’s ok to bully a learner driver?
It got me thinking, what kind of person would intimidate a learner driver, what sparks that fury to make such dangerous decisions? Is it someone who, on passing their test, has completely forgotten what it was like to be a learner driver and feels they now have the right to drive as they wish?
The officer who is taking action against the driver I reported has the unfortunate job of investigating some of the biggest road fatalities in North Yorkshire, she sees first hand the consequences of dangerous driving.
Who is most at risk from aggressive driving?
According to the latest government figures (year ending June 2022) 26% of all road fatalities in the UK were in the age bracket 17-29, within that figure a whopping 82% were male.
So where does this aggressive driving behaviour originate from? Peer group pressure? Thrill seeking? Aggressive driving games? Sometimes the influence can be closer to home…
Childhood influences
A research study at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel found that the driving styles of children closely mimic their parents’ habits.
“Parents may think that they are starting to teach their child to drive safely when they are teenagers. But no less important to the way that teens and young adults end up driving is the way that the parents drive throughout their childhood,” says Dr. Orit Taubman – Ben-Ari, who led the study.
Her research found strong gender link between young drivers – their driving more closely resembled that of the same-sex parent. Boys especially tend to imitate their fathers’ driving style, although the study also found strong similarities between mothers’ and daughters’.
Therefore, according to their data, if Dad drives angrily and recklessly, there is a higher probability that his son will. If Mum is calm and careful, the odds that her daughter will do the same are high. Children can pick up driving habits from as young as 5 years old.
So we all have a part to play in keeping vulnerable road users and ourselves safe.
I implore you to be patient with learner drivers; if you have young children, show them good driving habits from a very young age (it may save their life) and call out abuse.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.