With increased traffic congestion and longer commutes, many Ontarians are observing and complaining of a loss of driver courtesy and an increase in road rage. Some of the increasingly common driver behaviours associated with poor driving manners involve drivers who pass and bud into already backed up traffic on exit lanes, and a refusal to make way for vehicles waiting to enter from driveways. This type of behaviour has become so widespread that we don’t notice the fact that driver courtesy is lacking in this province until we drive elsewhere. Anyone who has travelled to Newfoundland or Nova Scotia recently will notice that drivers wait patiently in exit lanes where traffic is converging without anyone bypassing waiting vehicles and budding in. Another common behaviour is drivers who slow down to stop for pedestrians who are waiting to cross or even just approaching a crosswalk.

A lack of driver courtesy has been associated with an increase in car accidents, and unfortunately, this type of behaviour is contagious. Drivers who are themselves treated with discourtesy are more inclined to treat other drivers the same way. On the positive side, when we are willing to share the road and extend courtesy to others, many other drivers are motivated to do the same.

A 2012 Quebec survey reports that 81 percent of residents believe that a lack of courtesy is a genuine problem on the road (“Courtesy and Sharing the Road”, The Government of Quebec, 2016). Yet 99 percent of the people responding to the survey said that they tended to be discourteous themselves. This clearly proves that we tend to blame others rather than recognize our own failings.  In many cases, driver actions that are considered rude stem from a poor understanding of driving rules and/or the Ontario Highway Traffic Act (or in the case of Quebec, the Highway Safety Code).  Other times, discourteous actions are caused by driver distraction, or stress and agitation resulting from heavy traffic.

The most irritating driver behaviours (in order of choice), according to the Quebec survey include:

• Tailgating
• Cutting off other vehicles
• Failure to signal an intention to turn
• Weaving in and out of traffic
• Driving at an excessive speed
• Making rude signs or verbal violence
• Failing to obey traffic signs, such as yield or stop signs
• Honking the horn for little or no reason

A CBC article titled “Rude, unsafe drivers on the rise, CAA says”, concluded that most Canadians believe drivers have become less courteous in the past decade and such actions as the ‘thank you wave’ have almost disappeared.  Many Canadians are not only concerned about the lack of courtesy but also with the potential for meeting aggressive drivers on the road.  From the CAA survey, the most grating behaviours were road rage and being cut off in traffic, which were cited by 86 per cent of respondents.  Also high on the list of irritating behaviours were texting or talking on the phone, tailgating, a failure to use signals and throwing trash out of the car window.

Most of these irritating behaviours violate Ontario traffic laws, increase the risk of a motor vehicle accidents or both.  Tailgating, for example, significantly increases the likelihood of causing a rear-end collision.
In a 2015 case, McDonald v. Kwan, an injured man was the victim of a rear-end collision on three separate occasions within a three-and-a-half-year period, once as a driver and twice as a passenger. The accidents resulted in life-altering injuries, including spinal injury, anxiety disorder and major depression, which substantially prevented the injured man from being gainfully employed in the future.  He was only 36 years old at the time of the first accident.

Clearly, no one would be successful in passing a driving test if they exhibited any of the named discourteous behaviours during their test, so all of us should be able to distinguish between right and wrong behaviours. Therefore, the key to changing the trend in courtesy is for all drivers to resurrect simple actions, such as the wave to signal ‘thankyou’, signaling our intention to turn, and refrain from cutting off other vehicles.

Let’s remember that this is not only a matter of practicing basic civility on the road. Aggressive, hot-headed and discourteous driver actions cause accidents and death.  Traffic congestion and stress are not likely to go away on Ontario roads, but we can make driving more enjoyable and safer for everyone if we relax and treat other drivers the way that we would like to be treated.

At Burn Tucker Lachaîne, we see the tragic repercussions of rude, aggressive and negligent driving actions every day and know that the cost of these actions is often life-changing injuries for innocent victims.  We urge everyone to practice courtesy and obey the traffic laws every time you get on the road.