Road rage has become a major traffic safety hazard in China with the country witnessing more than 17 million incidents this year, an official report said.
China's Ministry of Public Security started a campaign to educate drivers on the third annual National Traffic Safety Day observed yesterday after arbitrary lane changes and dangerous overtaking became a frequent occurrence in the country.
The Ministry described road rage as a major traffic safety hazard.
Chinese traffic police have handled more than 17 million cases involving road rage this year as the world's largest car market struggles to teach its drivers better road etiquette, the report said.
Though the number of cases handled by police has only risen by 2.8 per cent year on year, more and more tragedies are involving road rage, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
In 2013, 80,200 accidents were attributed to anger behind the wheel, a 4.9 per cent year on year increase.
The figure rose by 2.4 per cent last year.
In May, a video showing a male driver beating a female driver in retaliation for a dangerous lane change left many Chinese people stunned.
More recently, a driver in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province was lambasted by the public after he intentionally forced an ambulance to pull over several times.
China has more than 169 million car owners, the ministry said as it warned drivers of "distracted driving," which it said caused 21,570 deaths last year.
