To police worker Gwyneth Ward it amounts to being "verbally terrorised". Other victims talk of being in fear of their lives. Yet for all the horrific road rage stories, many offenders still escape with nothing more than a caution.

Gwyneth, 28, who works at Thames Valley Police's Kidlington headquarters, was certainly able to give her employers a full account of just what it means to be a victim.

Her nightmare began when she overtook a red Nissan Micra on the way to work in the force's telecommunications department. She suddenly became aware she was being followed as she turned off the A34.

Said Gwyneth: "He swung across the hatch markings and was right up behind me, swinging across from left to right, very close. As we approached the flyover bridge, he swung out. I thought that if anything came over the bridge there would have been a head-on collision.

"He tailgated me to the small roundabout. He was constantly swinging from left to right and I could see he was really angry."

Gwyneth, from Bicester, said the driver then blocked her path at a set of bollards, got out of his car and came towards her.

"I locked my car doors and just sat there. He was shouting and swearing about women drivers. "I think he was just really angry at being overtaken by a woman. I was in a hell of a state. It gave me a real fright."

But an offence which can lead to loss of life or dramatic personality changes often seems to be punished less severely than travelling at 40mph in a 30mph zone, or parking badly in Oxford city centre.

A disturbing summer outbreak of mad-driver disease has forced Thames Valley Police to respond to public anxiety. The force has promised that the days of cautions and stern talkings-to are over and all offenders will now be prosecuted.

Head of criminal justice, Supt Frank Sullivan, said: "In the past, Home Office guidelines meant offenders could escape with a caution.

"But we have decided that our guidelines need adjusting. Rrecent incidents have caused such public concern that we have made a policy decision to take offenders to court in all cases."

However, he warned: "There is no such offence as road rage. What is referred to as road rage can vary from poor driving to serious assault and criminal damage.

"What we are saying is that motorists involved in incidents where they lose control will now end up in court.

"It does not matter whether it involves as much as a push in the chest, if the evidence is there we will act. And that applies to passengers as well." A 42-year-old nurse at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, became so tormented by road rage on the A3400 that she contemplated quitting her job.

The mum-of-two, who travels from Stratford-upon-Avon, said matters came to a head at traffic lights in Woodstock. A male driver, angry at being overtaken earlier, saw his chance.

"He suddenly leaped out of the car. I locked the doors and drove off. I left him with his car stuck in the middle of the road screaming at other drivers.

"On a few occasions I have nearly been forced into ditches. It reached the stage where I thought, 'I have a young family, I can't face this journey'. In the end I found a different route, but it means a much longer journey into work."

The nurse, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she saw little point involving police. "I just felt it would not be followed up. But I'm pleased about this new policy. Something needed to be done."

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