Road rage redlines

South African drivers are stressed out and are taking it out on one another.

In the latest eruption of road rage, school teacher Suzanne Leyden was dragged several metres by a motor car she had been involved in a bumper-bashing with.

Last night, she lay in an induced coma in a Johannesburg hospital.

When ER24 paramedics found her lying in the road at 7am yesterday, she had suffered extensive head and chest injuries.

Johannesburg Metro Police Inspector Edna Mamonyane said the incident happened on the corner of William Nicol and Sandton drives.

"The lady was driving an Audi and after the accident she had approached the other driver to get his details."

The driver, said Mamonyane, allegedly drove off, dragging Leyden with him.

Mamonyane said last night that no witnesses had been found.

According to a Facebook update of Marlize Leyden, the injured woman's sister, she suffered a fractured skull and swelling of the brain.

Yesterday's incident resembled another in which a young advocate, Kim McCusker, was dragged by a taxi following an altercation between a taxi driver and her fiance in 2011.

She spent several weeks in hospital and has had to undergo several operations and physiotherapy.

Three weeks ago, video footage showed a VW driver reversing at high speed into another vehicle, narrowly missing two people who were standing alongside it at the Rosebank Mall parking.

The driver was later arrested.

A motorist shot dead a motorcylist during an argument on Malibongwe Drive, Johannesburg, in February.

According to psychologist Dr Jacques van Zyl, road rage is becoming more prevalent.

"There is a general sense of frustration, people are over-reacting," Van Zyl said.

The economic situation, he believed, was adding to tension.

"People I have interviewed are stressed, and they say it is a combination of factors, financial stress and congestion on the roads," he said.

That it was the end of the year was also a contributor, he said.

Van Zyl said this kind of anger was not confined to the roads. It was spilling out in malls, bars and restaurants. Alcohol was another contributing factor.

"A lot more people have anger issues and this relates to depression. Depression and anger are two sides of the same coin. Depression causes men to act out," he said.

Howard Dembovsky, the founder of the Justice Project SA, had another reason for the sudden increase in road rage.

"Road rage is being caused by the lack of law enforcement on our roads," Dembovsky said.

This lack of law enforcement, he said, could be illustrated by the fact that 92.8% of enforcement by Joburg metro officers was done behind a speed camera.

These were officers, he said, who should be doing physical enforcement and pulling over reckless drivers. Gauteng, he had noted, had the highest incidence of road rage.

Automobile Association spokesman Marius Luyt said the increased number of vehicles on the road was also adding to road rage.

South Africa now had about 10million cars on its roads, Luyt said.

But road rage can be defeated, according to Van Zyl. This can be done through education.

In Sweden, a billboard campaign to end reckless driving had resulted in a 15% decrease in accidents.

Van Zyl said drivers needed to think before reacting to poor driving.