Road rage: Are your clients guilty?

Canadian auto insurers take note: Most drivers in the country have witnessed acts of road rage, and more than half have admitted to engaging in it themselves, according to the results of a recent survey.  

Generally speaking, for the drivers, violent acts from road rage would fall outside the scope of auto insurance. For example, section 55(7.1) of B.C.’s Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation says an insured driver breaches their insurance contract if they intentionally commit an act of violence with a vehicle “unless the insured is a mentally disordered person at the time of the act.” 

But victims of road rage may have their damage insured, depending on the coverage.

A recent survey conducted by Leger on behalf of RatesDotCa found 83% of Canadian drivers polled reported observing acts of road rage in the past year, including honking, tailgating, rolling down the vehicle window to yell at someone, and exiting the vehicle to confront someone. But only 56% of the 1,545 polled licensed drivers reported engaging in these acts themselves. 

“These numbers are up from 2022, with the number of drivers observing road rage incidents increasing five percentage points, while the number of those engaging in acts of road rage also rising five percentage points,” RatesDotCa says in a statement. 

“Road rage continues to be one of the most dangerous driving behaviours on the roads today,” says Daniel Ivans, a RatesDotCa insurance expert and licensed broker. “Not only could road rage lead to tickets, fine and higher insurance premiums, it could also lead to life-altering injuries or fatalities.  

“Engaging in any kind of road rage behaviour is never worth it.” 

The survey found both men and women show similar frequency when it comes to how much they engage in road rage (57% compared to 55%). But men are significantly more likely to engage in confrontational person-to-person behaviours, including rolling down the window to yell at someone (11% of men compared to 6% of women), stopping to exit their vehicle to confront another person (5% compared to 2%) and cutting off another driver (17% vs. 13%). 

Younger drivers are angrier than others on the road, the survey found. Seven per cent of young drivers aged 18 to 34 reported stopping and exiting a vehicle to confront someone in the past year compared with 2% of those aged 35 and older. 

In Ontario, dangerous driving accelerated post-pandemic, a 2022 CAA South Central Ontario and DIG Insights study found. Speeding was the most common dangerous driving behaviour observed, followed by aggressive driving, unsafe lane changes, and distracted driving. 

More recently, Saskatchewan Government Insurance’s May Traffic Safety Spotlight recorded hundreds of offences for failing to stop or yield, impaired driving, seatbelt and car sea offences and distracted driving, SGI said in a press release last week. The same traffic safety spotlight reported 4,155 tickets for speeding and aggressive driving offences. 

Feature image by iStock.com/Petko Ninov