The RAC has revealed that one in three motorists has been the victim of road rage.

A major annual report by the RAC, Report on Motoring 2008: Twenty Years of Motoring, has revealed that aggressive driving is one of the biggest changes to happen to motoring over the last 20 years, ahead of congestion, roadworks and speed cameras.

According to the report, road rage is the second biggest change to motoring and has caused one in three people to feel physically threatened – even though almost half of drivers surveyed admitted to using threatening behaviour themselves.

The biggest change to motoring since 1988 is the cost of the activity. However, the report found that this factor did not put people off driving – 9 out of 10 motorists believed that Britain is a “car dependent society”, while 73% stated that they would “find it difficult without a car”.

Adrian Tink, RAC Motoring Strategist, said: “All eyes are focused on rising fuel prices, but there’s another menace on our roads that we can control – our own behaviour. It’s worrying that millions of motorists are victims of a driving behaviour that didn’t even have a name 20 years ago.”

One fifth of all motorists surveyed believed that driving today is less pleasurable than 20 years ago, and cited reasons for this stress as other motorists who drive too closely behind; drivers who do not change lanes for faster cars on motorways; and people who drive too slowly for the road conditions.

In light of these findings, the RAC is calling for more education to be available for drivers, a reduced drink drive limit, and an increased and highly visible police presence to act as a deterrent against road rage behaviour.

The report is the first of three motoring reports from the RAC this year. In recognition of 2008 being the 20th year that the survey has been published, the motoring organisation has carried out three special separate reports to be published throughout 2008, of which this is the first.

To read the report in full, and to vote for which bad driving habit you find the most annoying, click here.