Drivers “surprised and happy” to see horses on the road – but “frustrated, angry, and anxious” when overtaking cyclists, new road rage study finds

Motorists are most likely to experience feelings of surprise or happiness when encountering and having to overtake horses and horse riders on the road – but anger, frustration, and anxiety when faced with the same situation involving a cyclist, a new study examining the role of mindfulness when passing vulnerable road users has found.

The research, carried out on behalf of the British Horse Society, also found that 80 per cent of drivers agree that motorists are held up by cyclists when in a rush, while seven out of ten drivers surveyed agreed that cyclists are unpredictable, can appear from nowhere, and don’t obey road rules.

Published last week, the Road Safety Trust-funded project was undertaken by David Crundall, Editha van Loon, and Katherine Bailey from Nottingham Trent University, and surveyed over 1,000 drivers on how they feel, think, and behave around vulnerable road users such as cyclists and horse riders in a bid “to better understand their emotions, attitudes, and behaviours”.

> Cycling UK and British Horse Society issue guidance to cyclists on how to overtake horses safely

As part of the study, the 1,006 drivers from across the UK who took part in the online questionnaire were asked how often they feel a range of emotions – including frustration, happiness, surprise, anger, contempt, and anxiety – when “faced with cyclists, horse riders, or motorcyclists in the road ahead”.

32 per cent of those surveyed reporting feeling frustrated towards cyclists “often” or “nearly always”. 20 per cent, meanwhile, reported the same frequencies of anxiety around cyclists, and 16 per cent said they were often or nearly always angry at people on bikes on the road.

In comparison, only two per cent said they were often or nearly always angry when faced with horses and horse riders on the road (though those behind the study noted that this still amounts to 24 of the 1,006 drivers surveyed, described as a “sizeable minority with extreme views”).

Over three-quarters of those surveyed said they felt frustration towards cyclists at least sometimes, with almost half experiencing anger occasionally. Under a quarter of respondents, meanwhile, said they never or almost never felt angry when passing a cyclist on the road.

> Study finds drivers who cycle or understand recommended cyclist road positioning are less likely to blame cyclists for close passes

The motorists were then asked to share how often they engage in risky or aggressive behaviour around vulnerable road users. 24 per cent said they shout or gesticulate at cyclists at least sometimes, with two per cent admitting that they frequently or almost always shout at cyclists.

Around a quarter of the drivers also said they sometimes follow cyclists at or less than a car’s length behind them (with around 15 per cent revealing that they frequently or almost always follow cyclists at close proximity), with roughly the same number admitting they leave people on bikes less than 1.5m space when passing. 40 per cent admitted overtaking cyclists at or above the speed limit for the road.

Between 20 and 30 per cent of drivers also said they sound their horn or rev their engine at cyclists before passing them.

Horses, however, appear to evoke much fewer instances of negative behaviour, with an average of 97 per cent saying they never engage in aggressive behaviour towards the animals and their riders on the road.

> Look out for horses — here's how to pass horse riders safely

Finally, when focusing on attitudes towards cyclists, 81 per cent said they strongly or somewhat agree that drivers may be in a rush and are held up by cyclists, while around 70 per cent agreed that cyclists are “unpredictable” and “can appear from nowhere”.

68 per cent also agreed with the statement that “cyclists don’t obey road rules” and around 55 per cent agreed that drivers may be stressed about something else and take it out on cyclists, that packs of leisure cyclists can be intimidating, and that cyclists “act arrogantly”.

Just under half (48 per cent) also strongly or somewhat concurred that cyclists should pay “road tax” (despite the fact it doesn’t exist) and 26 per cent agreed that cyclists “shouldn’t be on the roads”.

> The real impact of close passes on cyclists — my children were nearly left fatherless due to the actions of one callous driver

In their free-form text responses to the questionnaire, some drivers expressed annoyance that cyclists “are slowing down traffic”, with one noting that “I am often in a rush and with time deadlines to get somewhere, so the hold-up of staying behind a cyclist holds me up far too long”.

Road position and riding two-abreast also formed a significant portion of the responses, with some arguing that “commuting cyclists… ride in the middle of the road making it hard to pass” and that “cyclists are very rude and ride in the middle of the road so that you can’t overtake”.

“Recreational expert cyclists often ride deliberately next to each other to slow other [road] users down,” another respondent said.

Other responses were even more forthright, and included claims that cyclists – or “Lycra warriors”, as one respondent described them – “are selfish and dangerous and think they own the road at times” and are “arrogant arseholes”.

“When there is a cycle path and it’s not being used, we always shout ‘use the cycle path psychopath!’” one of the motorists added.

This data was subsequently assessed by mindfulness experts, with a group of drivers then treated to a four-week training intervention, where they were shown newly crafted scripted videos which aimed to tackle a lack of knowledge about unsafe passing behaviours by providing information on how to overtake vulnerable road users, provide persuasive arguments to reframe motorists’ attitudes towards cyclists, and offer mindfulness techniques to combat in-the-moment emotions such frustration and anger.

According to the report, the four videos had a positive effect on the attitudes and emotions, particularly concerning frustration, of the drivers towards cyclists, and that their intended future overtaking speeds have decreased, along with a decrease in their unsafe passing behaviours.

The motorists who took part in the online course also said the videos would be of great benefit for other drivers, reckoning that their knowledge, attitudes, and level of control when overtaking had improved, and that they would use the recommended safe passing and mindfulness techniques in practice.