Study says Chilean drivers are aggressive, violent and risky

“The street is a concrete jungle. And wild beasts, of course . There is no longer anyone going crazy with joy, everywhere the worst awaits you. The song “Juanito Alimana” by Héctor Lavoe and Willie Colon describes well what many think when they have to travel in the city, a situation that was evident in the survey on coexistence and road safety developed by Achs and Datavoz, where 59% of people said they observed “a lot of aggression and violence” from drivers and pedestrians.

The perception study was carried out to more than a thousand people through telephone interviews and covered all 16 regions of the country, including 1,102 interviewed by telephone. The work has led to worrying conclusions, as it highlights a series of behaviors that have an impact on the road safety of motor vehicle drivers and their environment.

The numbers are obvious and worrying. When asked for their opinion on road violence, the responses were as follows:

• 36% believe it is “very likely” to have a physical or verbal altercation with a public transport driver
• 32% believe it is “very likely” to have a physical or verbal altercation with a taxi driver
• 24% consider it “very likely” to have a physical or verbal altercation with a cyclist or scooter user.
• 21% consider it “very likely” to have a physical or verbal altercation with a motorist (21%)

What is striking is that, in this same request, 20% of those questioned admit to having already participated in verbal attacks against other road users.

Regarding this situation, Rodrigo de la Calle, Head of Product Development and Digital Strategy at Achs , argued that “studies like this help to give visibility to a problem that we see daily, the risks imposed by the type of road coexistence that we have in our country. In this sense, as Achs, we want to collaborate in strengthening preventive measures and generate instances capable of reflecting the behavior of people as drivers and pedestrians who impose risks to road safety, to face them with authorities and thus reduce road accidents in the country.

Karina Muñoz, executive secretary of Conaset commented on the study that “if each of us, in the choices we make corner by corner, is not aware of the others with whom we share public space, and we continue to adopt high-risk behaviors like As this study shows, we will continue to regret a high number of deaths in road accidents. Regulations and laws exist to protect us all, and understanding this is essential.

The Achs and Datavoz study provided other interesting results which should alert the authorities, both by the actions they are carrying out and by the concern they are causing among the populations. Among these stand out:

• 90% said using a cell phone while driving was “very dangerous”, but 40% admitted to doing so in the past year.
• 55% reported not having a valid driver’s license
• 62% say it is “very common” for cars to turn without signaling
• 70% admit that it is “very common” that they park at the top of the sidewalk.
• 67% say they are exposed to road accidents, regardless of their degree of caution and compliance with the rules.

Concerning these questions related to the highway code and road safety, the people consulted expressed concern about their knowledge of the rules:

• 67% say that there is little road education and respect for the highway code by drivers.
• 40% say the streets they travel on are dangerous due to a lack of signage.
• 33% said the roads were unsafe due to the presence of holes or poor surfacing.
• 12% admit to parking in spaces that do not correspond to them (authorized for disabled people, pregnant women or with a “No parking” sign)

• 46% observe “very frequently” other drivers breaking the rule of not parking in spaces that do not belong to them.
• 55% say they have seen other motorists not respecting a pedestrian crossing, but only 23% admit to such behavior.

Regarding the lack of road education, General Marcela González, responsible for the traffic area, roads and road safety of the Carabineros, said that “one of the measures to reduce this aggressiveness of drivers is to have better road education . This is why, this year, we have strengthened the work in schools across the country. We must also work to improve roads and reduce traffic jams, which are a major factor in citizen irritability.”

However, when respondents were asked who were the most reckless and risky actors in their driving behavior, the result was the following:

• Motorcyclists 49.6%
• Public transport drivers 47.5%
• App workers (Uber, Didi, Rappi, etc.) 29.6%
• Motorists 24.7%
• Cyclists 19.8%
• Pedestrians 18.6%
• Don’t know/Don’t answer 1.4%

An interesting topic that also allows us to know people’s perception regarding the dangers that can be found in the streets and which lead to road accidents, the main responses were due to the maneuvers or actions of the drivers:

• 91% find it very dangerous to overtake in an unauthorized area
• 90.8% find it very dangerous to carry out other activities while driving (eating, using a cell phone, putting on makeup)
• 88.9% find it very dangerous to zigzag on a motorcycle between moving vehicles
• 88.1% find it very dangerous to walk on public roads under the influence of alcohol
• 87% find it very dangerous to walk distractedly, read, handle the cell phone or listen to music.
• 86.5% find it very dangerous to transport children under 12 years old in the front seat
• 85% find it very dangerous to cycle with headphones
• 84.4% find it very dangerous to cycle without a helmet
• 79.5% find it very dangerous to cycle on the sidewalk when the cycle path is available

“Good road coexistence requires a commitment to road safety education, a commitment to others and to ourselves. In this sense, we are faced with a challenge as a country and our objective leads us to act accordingly. As Achs, we are committed to creating a safe Chile for workers, their families and their communities. We want to achieve zero accidents, and to achieve this, people, in their different roles and with their own sense of responsibility, must make their contribution,” said Rodrigo de la Calle.

The executive mentioned that at Achs they offer online training open to the community through the website. https://achsvirtual.achs.cl/ which is called Safe Journey, “we explain the principles of road coexistence applied to the different roles we face daily: pedestrian, passenger, motorist, motorcyclist and cyclist,” he noted.

The survey on coexistence and road safety was divided between 51.1% women and 48.9% men. Regarding age groups, 21.9% were between 18 and 35 years old; 29.8% were between 30 and 44 years old, 24.2% between 45 and 59 years old and 24.1% declared themselves over 60 years old.

Results also showed substantial differences in behaviors and perceptions by gender.

Men reported that their most used mode of transportation was the car (39%) while only 19% of women reported that driving a motor vehicle was their primary mode of transportation, ranking second behind public transport (43%).

Where significant distances are also observed is in the perception of road safety, where women are more pessimistic:

• 70% say they have been exposed to road accidents, regardless of their degree of caution or compliance with regulations, compared to 63% of men.
• 27% thought it was very likely they would be hit by a vehicle or motorcycle, compared to 20% of men
• 31% of women say they could suffer a road accident, compared to 24% of men

Women also expressed greater concern about the lack of road safety education (71% compared to 64% of men) and signage (43% compared to 37%) and more frequently observed rule violations such as non-respect of pedestrian crossings (49% saw this, which contrasts with 40% among men) and the abusive use of exclusive parking (50% compared to 41%).

Men, for their part, admit to having more risky behaviors on public roads:

• 49% admitted to looking at their cell phone while driving in the past year, compared to 34% of women
• 24% attacked another person verbally or with a gesture compared to 16% of women