The study by the UK’s most renowned stress-free car-buying service, webuyanycar, found that while more women admit to getting angry each week (90 percent versus 84 percent), men are more likely to act on their emotions during a road rage incident (54 percent of men, versus 50 percent of women). Road rage also has a much bigger effect on women than men, with over two thirds (67 percent) of women surveyed admitting a road rage incident really impacts their day, compared to just 47 percent of men.
In the East Midlands more than half (53 percent) of motorists admit they’ve acted on their emotions in a moment of road rage. It’s not particularly surprising when 83 percent say they get angry once a week, with almost one in 10 (8 percent) admitting getting angry is a daily occurrence.
And while the most common act of road rage in the UK is being beeped at (66 percent), webuyanycar also discovered more aggressive forms of road rage are surprisingly common, including almost half of motorists (47 percent) who say they have been tailgated, 15 percent have had another driver get out of their car to intimidate or start a physical altercation and seven percent even say they’ve had someone try to run them off the road.
But what can be done to help calm tensions as we drive, when the top three reasons Brits get angry each week are all road-related?
Richard Evans, head of technical services at webuyanycar, explains:
“The best way to calm down quickly when you feel rising emotions while driving is possibly one of the simplest things you can do, and something 95 percent of the drivers we surveyed already have in their car – listen to music.
“Scientists discovered listening to music can release chemicals in the brain that make us feel good and help shift our emotional state* but it’s important to select the right type of music with a beat and tempo that provide the perfect combination to calm us down while still ensuring we remain focused behind the wheel.
“Fast tempo songs can actually lead to a lack of focus, possibly making motorists drive faster and potentially leading to accidents, while slower tempo songs – those dubbed as the most relaxing – can make motorists feel sleepy, which isn’t needed when we’re driving.”
In fact, research has shown the best songs to listen to while driving have a beat per minute (bpm) between 60 and 80**, allowing drivers to relax enough while remaining focused. Webuyanycar asked respondents to pick their favourite songs with a bpm between 60 and 80 and created the ultimate road rage rescue playlist.
The top 10 songs to play to counter road rage in the car
- Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers - 78bpm
- I'm A Believer - The Monkees - 80bpm
- What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong - 77bpm
- Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond - 63bpm
- Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen - 77bpm
- We Are The Champions - Queen - 64bpm
- Hello - Adele - 79bpm
- Careless Whisper - George Michael - 77bpm
- Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley - 67bpm
- I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston - 68bpm
While 46 percent of those surveyed turn to music to calm down if they feel angry in the car, four in 10 (42 percent) take some deep breaths, a quarter (27 percent) put the window down to get some fresh air and 16 percent pull over and take a break.
Listen to the ultimate road rage rescue playlist by webuyanycar on Spotify now or visit webuyanycar to see the full playlist.