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Road rage an increasing problem in Denmark

Christian Wenande
November 21st, 2017


This article is more than 7 years old.

Danish drivers have become more aggressive in the past decade

Driving in Copenhagen can be frustrating (photo: Tony Fischer – Flickr)

According to a new Epinion survey compiled for the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the safe traffic council, Rådet for Sikker Trafik, there are more and more cases involving road rage on Danish roads.

The survey revealed that 35 percent of Danish drivers have been exposed to some degree of road rage within the past year – an increase of 10 percent compared to 2008.

“We know from overseas findings that the chances of getting into an accident  increase when people get aggressive. Those involved become mentally distracted and have less focus in traffic,” Jesper Sølund, a spokesperson for Rådet for Sikker Trafik, told Metroxpress newspaper.

READ MORE: Danes most annoyed in traffic – survey

Crazy capital
Road rage covers anything from being shouted at to inflicting physical violence, though it is the mildest forms of road rage that occur most often – only 1 percent  said they had experienced physical violence in traffic in the last year.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, road rage was most common in the Capital Region, where 41 percent had endured another driver’s wrath at some point.

The news complements a recent Megafon survey for the Vejdirektoratet road directorate, which indicated that Danes were most likely to get annoyed in traffic – most particularly congestion.

And earlier this week, it was reported that while cyclists are less likely to get angry with other road users than motorists, they are more inclined to express themselves physically.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”