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What ticks off drivers in Japan? New survey reveals the top three causes of road rage

Ingrid Tsai Aug 22, 2021
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Buckle up your seatbelts—literally and figuratively.

If there’s one thing universal around the world, it’s road rage, and Japan is unfortunately not an exception. From altercations on the road to literal sword attacks, road rage in Japan occurs in a variety of ways, and most importantly, a new and recent survey has gauged what exactly triggers drivers in Japan to lose their temper.

Conducted by insurance company Zurich, the online survey was presented to 2,230 individuals who drove at least more than once a week. In terms of how often people encountered road rage, 50 percent of respondents have yet to be personally involved in a road rage incident whereas 17.5 and 18.3 percent have respectively experienced a fellow driver’s road rage within one year as well as six years of driving.

Furthermore, for such folks who have experienced someone else’s temper on the road, when asked specifically about the type of incident they were involved in, more than 70 percent answered “speedily approached by the [other] driver’s car.”

▼ Vroom, vroom, but for all the wrong reasons.

Now for what exactly causes individuals to go berserk while behind the wheel, the survey breaks down a few of the reasons. In third place at 15.4 percent is “changing lanes.” No doubt, as anyone who’s been on the road long enough will know, there’s definitely something annoying about drivers who haphazardly switch lanes or who fail to use their blinkers, though that doesn’t justify and shouldn’t prompt violence.

Jumping up to second place, the second biggest reason that gets drivers in Japan heated is “slow driving” at 21.4 percent. Regardless of where you are in the world, naturally folks rushing to get to their destination hate being delayed by a slower driver. But as we all share the road, it’s important to take into consideration everyone’s driving ability, especially individuals who are newer to it or have slower reflexes.

▼ Be careful, grandpa!

And without further ado, at 25.6 percent, the number one cause which puts more quick tempered drivers into a blind fury is getting passed. Though it’s not specifically stated whether it’s a matter of simply getting passed on the road or getting passed while in the fast lane, the result is a great oust considering how for last year’s survey the number one cause was “driving at the speed limit.”

Nevertheless, netizens reflected over their own driving experiences online in response:

“Road rage isn’t great, but there’s a lot of lousy drivers out there.”
“Regardless of what you do, if someone has a tendency to get pissed, then they’ll just get pissed no matter what.”
“Not going to lie, I get really angry when people speed through a right turn.”
“It’s often suggested we drive at least two car lengths behind the driver ahead of us. For folks prone to road rage, that’s impossible for them.”
“Those who run people off the road should have to re-do driver’s ed.”

Driving sometimes brings out the worst in people, leading to fights on the road or even a standstill in traffic. But like any other foray into greater society, it’s not always doom and gloom, especially when it comes to the more amusing, memorable moments.

Source: MONEYzine via Yahoo! Japan via Hachima Kiko, PR Times
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2, 3)
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