You Give Me Road Rage Week In Week Out

This programme contains strong language.

Road rage. You talk to me again like that, and

I'll wrap that locking bike straight up your nose, is that clear?

It's an ugly fact of life on our roads.

When he got out of the car and approached me, I did think he was

going to hit me. I find out how to control road rage.

You're an idiot, get out of my way. Absolutely.

Tonight, we examine what's being done to tackle it and meet a

self-confessed road-rager. She just stuck her hand out like

that. Stopped the traffic and walked across and there's a crossing by

there. Unbelievable. I was round about here lying on my

side, still on my bike and half my body was underneath the front end of

the young lady's car. On a Sunday afternoon, like

thousands of people up and down the country, Gary Marshall and his wife

Debbie were enjoying a cycle ride. They were on their way back to their

home near Swansea when a bottle was thrown at them from a passing car.

I was aghast and shocked that someone could throw a bottle at me

for no reason. I've gesticulated to the chap, the passenger, who has

stopped by the drain cover here. I've had a shouting match with her

partner to which my wife came on and said, enough's enough, leave it

alone, it's not worth anything. The row seemed over and Gary and

Debbie set off on their bikes again but moments later the car stopped

just feet behind them. I thought, you're having a laugh!

The red mist has descended on her and she's drove over me hence the

state of my bike here. The first Gary's wife, Debbie, knew

something terrible had happened, is when she heard the car run over

Gary. When I heard the crunch, I thought

that's it. I didn't hear anything initially. I just heard this crunch.

It will always live with me. I don't what she was doing. What

made her put her foot on the pedal to run him over? Who would do that?

The impact on Gary lasted for weeks. I was waking up in the night

reliving the event. Debbie would say I was waking up in the night

screaming. Debbie would ask if I was all right. She said I was screaming

in my sleep. In my dreams, I was reliving what possibly could have

happened. Gary was a victim of road rage.

We've all heard of it and if you've been unlucky enough to be on the

receiving end of it, road rage can be terrifying. It happened to me

once. I was tailgated by a driver I'd overtaken and we nearly crashed.

It was an unnerving experience. In this programme, we're going to be

examining the impact of road rage people's lives. We will be asking

whether new rules that have been introduced and designed to stamp it

out will actually work. Many of us can lose our cool, to

some extent or another, when behind the wheel. Grandmother Linda admits

it can happen to her. I have been known to get out of my

car and have words. I surprise myself. I stopped my car in the

middle of the road and get out because of the traffic stop. Telling

the person what I thought of them because they've cut me up. I've got

back in and, yeah. Linda's being driving for 32 years.

Mostly she's making short journeys, such as when she's looking after her

granddaughter, Mia. I don't like trouble, I don't like

anything like that. But if I feel I was endangered there's like a little

devil. My mouth sort of goes, and I am thinking, did you really just say

that? Did you really just do that? She's suffering a personality

change. Probably if she'd been this way 30 years ago, I don't think we

would have got married. Sometimes I do find myself chastising her for

showing aggression. Linda's husband, Eric, who runs a

steakhouse in Cardiff, worries one day Linda's actions in the car could

backfire. I do get fearful. At the end of the

day, we can all get aggressive. If somebody's bigger than us and

stronger and in the wrong frame of mind, it could turn to physical

violence. We do read about it in the paper. Not everyone's going to turn

around and say sorry. The argument could escalate. I would hate to

think of it, she could come unstuck. It's like something has flashed.

Something could have happened. Perhaps I think of the worst case

scenario, I don't know, of what they could have done. It really frightens

me and that's when I go into the Hulk, like.

There you are, lovely. Did you see how then? She stuck her hand out.

She stopped the traffic and walked across. She was walking diagonally

across the road. Unbelievable. HORN BEEPS. If that car hadn't have come

like that I don't know what would have happened then.

Later, we'll find out just why Linda sometimes sees red.

All too often, it appears to be cyclists who bear the brunt of road

rage. HORN BEEPS.

You talk to me again like that, and I'll wrap that locking bike straight

up your nose, is that clear? Is that clear? Is it clear? Otherwise, I'll

rip that locking helmet off your head.

This motorist confronted 19-year-old college student Matt Turner.

Immediately when he got out the car and approached me, I did think he

was going to hit me. Matt regularly wears a small camera

attached to his cycle helmet when he's out on his bike then puts the

videos on the internet. I was just experiencing so many incidents on

the road and wanted some way of showing others what I was

experiencing. Matt had been out on his bike and

was coming through Rhuddlan in Denbighshire when the confrontation

happened. I didn't intend for the driver to

hear. I didn't mean anything by it. There was no reason for me to say it

but as I said it, the driver must have heard. Further down the road,

he stopped and started shouting at me. You're putting other people in

danger. Drive properly. The driver took exception to this and said,

what's it got to do with you? You've got no right to be saying those

things to me. Matt carried on his ride but the

driver had turned around and was now behind him.

He overtook me and pulled sharply in front of me and slammed on his

brakes. It's all on camera. Couldn't give a toss if it's on camera. You

talk to me again like that and I'll wrap that locking bike straight up

your nose, is that clear? Is that clear? Is it clear? Otherwise, I'll

rip that locking helmet off your head. Is it clear? Is it clear? I'm

calling the police. You can call whoever you locking like. You're the

one who started this. Who locking started this, mate? Danger, you

tailgating. Unfortunately, road rage happens all

too often in Wales. We asked 750 people up and down the country if

they've ever experienced road rage, such as having rude or aggressive

behaviour aimed at them by other drivers. 51% said they had. I've

driven to a roadside cafe near Caerphilly to ask motorists for

their experiences. Somebody travelling up to a set of

traffic lights at 20mph, they boot it before they go red and you're

left there. So you get angry. I language? -- angry? Honestly?

One thing which irritates me is people sitting in the middle lane

when they don't need to and they sit there with miles of empty space in

the slow lane and they don't move in.

A lot of people in the early morning if they're in a rush for work, they

tend to come up your backside and flash you and try to go on the

inside lane. How does it make you feel?

It does make me feel angry, I wouldn't lie. Do you get angry?

Yeah, I do get angry. What do you do? To be honest with you... Does it

involve fingers? Things like that. In August, the Government in

Westminster introduced new powers for the police to tackle careless

driving which often lead to road rage.

There's no specific offence of road rage. The police have new powers to

issue fixed penalty notices for things like lane hogging and

tailgating. These were already offences, but previously any

motorist caught driving in this way had to be taken to the courts. Now

they can be hit with a ?100 on-the-spot fine or an education

course similar to speeding offences. Police Commissioner Alun Michael

supports the new powers but questions if they can be implemented

due to cuts in the number of traffic officers.

There's a real squeeze on every aspect of the work of the police at

the moment. We've experienced a 20% cut over the last couple of years

and more coming next year and the year after. It's all very well

having a good idea and I support the idea of this initiative. The

Government is right to create the possibility of early intervention

but this Government doesn't bare any regard to the cost of doing that

work. Sometimes having that engagement

with a police officer for a motorist and suitable advice and finger

wagging and being told off about your standard of driving has a

greater impact than perhaps a fixed penalty notice.

Stephen Trigg represents rank and file police officers and he also

questions if there are enough resources to enforce the new fixed

penalties. It's fair to say when officers do

see standards of bad driving, they will in every case pull the driver

over and at least speak to them. The reality is we have fewer and fewer

front line police officers, so the occasions when they are likely to be

out and about pro-actively looking for bad drivers are fewer and fewer.

That's the reason why we have very few fixed penalty notices issued.

The number of traffic offices has gone down in Wales more than

anywhere else in Britain with a 31% reduction over four years in Wales

compared to the British average of 12%. -- traffic officers. The Home

Office admits police budgets have been cut in a difficult economic

situation and it wants police forces to seek ways to improve and

continually challenge themselves. We're back with Linda and Mia, and

Eric's going to brave the city traffic.

She's just so precious and I just couldn't imagine anybody doing

anything while I had her and it just makes me more and more alert and

aware in the car. 21 years ago, Linda's daughter,

Mia's mum, was run over crossing the road and it's haunted her ever

since. When she was on the crossing with

the green man, she was actually hit and run and she was quite badly

injured. She had a broken pelvis, a broken tib and fib. In the end, she

had pins and plates in because they couldn't fix the leg. I don't feel

this accident is on my mind but it's probably in my sub-conscious or

something, and you don't realise do you?

Eric's back and now he's seen red. He's had a near-miss with a car.

On the other side of the road, they edged each other out and into the

bike lane. Nearly knocked me off the bike and had the cheek to say I

shouldn't over take on the inside. I reminded him it was a bicycle lane

and he should not be in it and stop the could not get away Quicken. If

the child had not been with me, I would have caught up and kept my

temper to myself because of young years.

Now, apparently this car, a blue Ford is one of the vehicles you are

most likely to be a victim of road rage in. And the chances of being a

victim of road rage are also increased during rush hour. So we're

in Swansea in the evening rush-hour, to meet a man who understands what

can trigger road rage. A lot of us seem to undergo this transformation

once we're in this isolated little metal box that we occupy. There was

an advert recently of people walking down the pavement, as they would

inside a car. It was so bizarre because you simply wouldn't do that.

You wouldn't snarl at people who've got in your way, you wouldn't shove

them out the way, you wouldn't elbow them onto the street. But that's

what we do in our cars. There's some beeping going on. Yeah, somebody's

not realised the lights have changed. So there's actually nothing

wrong with that, just one beep to remind them the lights have changed.

But that beep, beep beep. That was actually an angry beep. It's like

there's a Morse code and that was - you're an idiot get out of my way.

Beware you are being cut. Motorists making mistakes on the road are

increasingly being captured on camera. How much room do you need?

That's so, so dangerous. 18-year-old Charlie Hambley doesn't leave his

home near Llandeilo in the car without his camera. I was coming

down on the M4 and there were road works there, and there were signs

for 800 yards. I got to where the merge happened and this driver

suddenly came up on my right and forced me out of my lane literally.

It was either forcing me, or hitting me. Under the new powers, it's that

type of driving which could land a motorist with a ?100 on-the-spot

fine. Charlie videos incidents of what he considers to be bad driving

and puts them on the internet. It allows me to show that members of

the public what to look out for. Charlie captures all manner of

driving around rural Carmarthenshire but says he never gives in to

thoughts of road rage himself. I feel angry inside and it makes my

head hot but at the end of the day you're not going to achieve anything

by doing anything else. You can swear in your head and what not but

there's no point in doing anything else. You're just wasting your time.

Motorists and cyclists filming their experiences on the road is an

increasing phenomena. One entrepreneur and former policeman

has set up a business using dash cams in cars. Driving standards have

obviously declined with the lack of pro-active police on our roads.

People are becoming more aggressive in the way they drive. They take

more risks when they drive. Motorists who capture incidents can

upload their videos or send a report to Matt's company. Staff will then

contact the appropriate police force if necessary or they may take up an

incident with an insurance firm if it's appropriate. You fucking idiot.

Right, I've fucking hit a pothole there.

The company showed this footage to the police. On this occasion, the

motorist was given a caution. Matt Stockdale says more cameras in cars

are having an impact. Having a camera on board, once you have it

you feel empowered. We actually feel safe again. With more and more road

users using dash-cams, chief police officers have given them a cautious

welcome. There have been the proliferation of cameras. Popping

one of those in the centre of your windscreen means you don't qualify

with road safety legislation. Fiddling round with it, are you in

control of the vehicle? If they are going to use those, in order for it

to be helpful and supportive we will also need you to make a statement

and BA with this in court. We asked each of the four Welsh police forces

how many fixed penalty notices for careless driving they have issued

since the new powers came into force two months ago.

Not one fixed penalty notice has been issued by any of the police

forces in Wales under the new powers. But we understand most

forces in England have. Will you be straight on the phone after this

interview to your colleagues in Wales, saying hang on, what are you

up to down there? Get those tickets out.

Well, you would expect I'm going to say to my people "can you just find

out who that is please?" It might be I need to understand why those

forces are not doing what I think the public want us to be doing. It's

that stuff that assists keeping people safe and not having

life-changing injuries as a result of doing stuff which we know affects

people's safety on roads. Danger, you are tailgating. I'm back on the

road at the cafe in Caerphilly. A car came at me and shouted abuse at

me through the window. When I replied they tried to run me off the

road. Chased me up the street and in the end they did run me over. They

ran you over? On purpose, ran me over, and came back for more.

There's two lanes going into one on the motorway. Everyone is giving

plenty of notice but there's always the chancer who will go right to the

end. Would you do that in Sainsbury's? How many times have you

been cut up on a roundabout? Too many times. How do you react? Bit of

aggression. Do you wind the window down? Nope. Fingers used at all?

Nope... Maybe. Wake up, you are hogging the lane. So when the red

mist does descend what should we do. You find yourself the victim of road

rage. It gives you the immense sense of security and comfort. It is my

domain. It is my kingdom and why should anybody interfere with my

right to -- to travel down that bit. It is much easier to relax, not

worry about it. If somebody makes a mistake, don't start telling them.

Trying make eye contact with people. Just about. She was quite close

behind. Look how much you have inconvenienced me. If you had to

stop in a hurry, the chances are the car would have gone behind you

because they had driving much too close. Your blood pressure is

because you are an hour for that meeting. People think you are an

idiot because you are not there on time. It is a part of modern life

and we have to recognise that stress loading up. You have to say, hang

on, this is not the way to drive. I have a turn-off metal driving in

close proximity to pedestrians and other cars, it does deserve me to

drive responsibly. You find yourself a victim of road rage, what you do?

If you realise you have made a mistake even if you don't think you

have cut somebody, saying sorry a wonderful thing. An innocent just

yet, a hand in the mirror. Looking over and saying, sorry, that can

diffuse all sorts of situations. It's 30 miles an hour and he thinks

it's Brands Hatch. When Linda sees red, she admits the air can turn

blue. My worse that I've ever said - f-ing wanker. I just do, it is

something that you want to just let out and it comes. Linda would like

to be able to control her outbursts. OK, If you'd like to jump in the

car. Set the seat up as you would normally drive. Today, she's come to

a driver training unit where she'll be given a psychological assessment

and Gareth Morgan's going to test her in a driving simulator. First

gear. Handbrake is down. Just drive forward and keep the wheels

straight. Remember it is electronic. But a foot on the gas pedal. Off you

go. All I want you to do is practice changing gear in the car. Is that

normal or should I be the affect driver? -- perfect driver? When

people are not you whilst you are driving, IU reflective on what you

have done? Do you go back and think why you have done that? Why'd you

continue to do its? Because I have just got it out. It is a cathartic

release? Yes. It is about raising awareness more about the actual

potential hazards out there. If we can get you to do that and

concentrate more on your driving rather than everyone else's, how

would you think that will affect what goes on in the car with your

attitude? My attitude would be better. Chill out. Oh my God, what

are you doing? The wheel straight! Stop the car. Put the car into

neutral. How did I get on? Lets get your results. You scored highly in

aggression. It shows you've been truthful with us, which is really,

really good. We can use that as feedback for you. Today is a little

snapshot of you. This can't be sorted out very quickly. It is a

period of different events and interventions that we can give you.

Thanks very much. I am chuffed that I have done it. Education is one way

of tackling road rage, another is law enforcement. We asked all four

Welsh police forces why they haven't issued any fixed penalty notices for

careless driving. They told us they would be soon and the delay was

merely administrative not down to resources. But there is concern that

the new powers have been brought in too hurriedly. You can't just have

this new type of order and expect the police to turn it on like a tap.

Things have to be put into place to make sure that it doesn't cost money

to the police and public locally. We need the benefits intended. The

department of transport insist the new fixed penalty notices the

careless driving were introduced after consultation with Chief

officers and they have helped with their IT systems. But is the law

really doing enough to protect victims? What happened to the people

we've met. Matt Turner reported the motorist to the police and he was

cautioned. The police, in the end, brought the driver into the police

station. They showed him the video. The driver accepted that he was in

the wrong. However, when the police requested he give me a formal

apology he said that he wouldn't. I still feel that he doesn't regret

what he did, he just regrets being caught. The woman who'd tried to run

Gary Marshall over was a learner driver. She was taken to court and

prosecuted. This woman drove a lethal weapon over me and yet she

gets 100 hours community service which I find ridiculous!

Policing aggressive motorists is one thing. But no amount of money, or

legislation, can stop all drivers from having road rage. Linda says

her attitude has changed after her spell in the police simulator. It

was really mind-blowing, honest to God, for me. I couldn't believe it.

It will make me think more. And it will. But the big question is, will

she ever have road rage again? Yeah. Oh, yeah, if I'm right, yes I will.

Definitely. What happens when your dream home is flooded? It was my

bass nightmare, the house was worthless. Houses are still being

built on flood plains but who pays when things go wrong?