MONTREAL, Que. — The latest research into road rage suggests one in five Canadian adults have been victimized by of the scourge today’s highways.

At the same time, about one in three individuals have witnessed such incidents of violence on the road.

The Leger Marketing survey says 20.4 per cent of the 1,508 people interviewed had been “a victim of the aggressive behavior of an automobile driver.” Another 32 per cent say they have been a witness to such actions.

When asked to describe the last incident of aggressive behavior they were victims of, 40.5 per cent say it was an indecent gesture such as a raised middle finger, while 27.1 per cent indicate it was indecent language or verbal threats.

“There have always been aggressive drivers on the roads,” says Jean-Marc Leger, president of Leger Marketing. “What’s new is there are more and more of them.”

Leger said the results reflect the higher degrees of stress in people’s lives, increased traffic congestion and deteriorating roads. The poll results are considered accurate within 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.