Highway Terrorism Taking Over Our Roads

Following three major road rage attacks in the last week, there is increased concern for the safety of our roads and drivers.

Eight am traffic chaos on MacRoberston Bridge, Melbourne. (Photo Credit: Hannah Clarke)

Statistics are showing the rate of road rage on Australian soil is continuing to rise as well as the severity of these attacks. With half a million cars hitting the states roads in the last five years, change must be considered to avoid more violent attacks. Nowadays, technology is making it easier to capture such events on smartphones and dash cams. Dash Cam Owners Australia aims to spread awareness and safer driving, its Facebook page being its largest tool for sharing footage of accidents and road situations. Benjamin Dalbosco from Camberwell believes dash-cams should be installed in more cars.

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It was a dash-cam that saw the brutal assault of a 21-year old Bianca Lee Sams, allegedly punched in the face during a road rage in NSW this week. The following day a motorist captured four men in a road rage brawl in Merrylands on his smartphone.

Merrylands road rage fury sparks angst among public, on Channel 7 News Melbourne twitter.

A Monash Study recently released alarming figures from a study of 2,916 drivers collected in 2014. It shows 86 per cent of Victorian drivers admitted to carrying out some sort of road fury, whether low-level honking, rude gestures, verbal abuse, tailgating or physical violence. More than 35% of men aged 22-39 have pursued another driver at least once trying to intimidate them. Policemen are also victimised, after the number of police vehicles rammed has tripled in the last four years under Andrews government.

Alarming road rage statistics (Photo Credit: The Age)

The metal box is no longer deemed a safety barrier from such violent offenders who’s anger is triggered by other slow drivers, frustration with a larger populated city, more traffic, road works, and slower speed limits. Ultimately drivers want to reach their destination faster, ahead of the traffic queues. The $110m Chandler Highway bridge widening and six lane upgrade, as well as the Metro Tunnel which will see five new underground stations in the city will only further affect traffic conditions in the area. Political advisor, Sophie Clarke says the only solution to lower such highway terrorism is that Victorians need “to adapt their way of driving and have to learn the new way of driving”.

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With 500,000 more cars on the roads now, Premier, Daniel Andrews needs to come up with a solution to strengthen these laws.