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Stay calm on the roads

Joel KellyMidland Kalamunda Reporter

In the incident, a woman punched the female victim in her car at the intersection of Great Northern Highway and Reid Highway.

Police said the attacker got out of her car, approached the victim's car, punched her in the face several times, then removed and threw away the victim's car keys.

Midland officer-in-charge Craig Davis said while it was unusual for road rage to get to the point of assault, it was important for motorists to settle down while driving.

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"We all make mistakes behind the wheel; no one's a perfect driver and there'll always be a time when someone might not indicate enough or someone might make a minor mistake," he said. "We just need to sit back, take a deep breath and just get on with it.

"Unfortunately it's something that still happens every now and then and we just need to deal with it as quick as we can."

Associate professor at University of WA's Crime Research Centre, David Indermaur, said road rage was a reflection of a culture of accepting aggression.

"The cause of it, if anything, is cultural; to give one's self permission to lose one's temper and act aggressively on the road," he said.

"Really what's required to prevent it is a cultural shift.

"You can see road rage as an extension of aggressive driving so cases of aggressive driving should really be policed and prosecuted more."

"The way we talk about aggressive behaviour very much becomes part of our cultural understanding; for example, when a footballer player assaults another football player on the field, we call it striking and that kind of diminishes it a bit."

Dr Indermaur said the cause of road rage was in individuals and he had some advice for irate drivers.

"If you find yourself getting agitated behind the wheel, you need to look at what's going on inside your mind and work towards constructing a peaceful place inside your mind," he said.

"Whether it's putting on music or just accepting the drive home from work, or wherever you're driving, can be an occasion for relaxation rather than agitation."

Midland Police are continuing investigations into the assault, which occurred on April 30 about 11.30am.

They are looking for a solidly built female with straight long black hair and tattoos, dark-skinned, about 30 years old and driving a burgundy four-wheel drive.

A man remained seated in the vehicle during the assault and is described as dark skinned, around 30 years old, with a slim build and beard.

Anyone with any information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.