We have all seen this behavior from other drivers occur. The tail-gating followed by sudden braking or acceleration is dangerous and bound to cause an accident. This could be happening at low speeds in traffic, or worse at high speeds, leaving little room for error or a way out should the unexpected arise.
What is Aggressive Driving?
Our car accident lawyers have seen the devastating aftermath of “road rage” or aggressive driving. We believe aggressive driving in a car weighing thousands of pounds is as dangerous as any weapon, and do not tolerate reckless drivers who injure our clients, their families, and our friends.
We often hear it described as “Road Rage.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines aggressive driving as: the combination of moving traffic offenses that endangers the lives of person or property. The NHTSA found aggressive driving behaviors played a role in about 56% of fatal crashes in a five-year review of their Fatal Accident Report database.
More than half of those who have died on our roadways may have been an innocent victim. This behavior is affecting hundreds every year.
If you or a loved one has been in a motor vehicle accident with an aggressive driver, The Flood Law Firm can help. We have years of experience and hold these drivers accountable.
This page below includes further information about aggressive driving, statistics, and how to best avoid an aggressive driver.
However, if you or someone you love has been involved in a car accident, we understand this is a difficult time. Our firm has stood by families in Connecticut and the Northeast representing victims in cases against aggressive drivers, speeding truckers, drunk drivers, and held all negligent parties accountable. We have recovered millions on behalf of our clients and paved the way to ensure justice is done.
Contacting our Lawyers is Free
We can ensure that the proper claims are filed in a timely manner, investigate the accident, and advise you on your legal rights to compensation for your property damage claim, medical bills, pain and suffering, among possible others.
We offer free case evaluations at no obligation to you. Contact us today at (877) 987-9529.
Types of Aggressive Driving
Often aggressive driving behaviors result in property and bodily injury damages. Aggressive driving behaviors, often referred to as “road rage” include but are not limited to:
- Erratic driving, operating the vehicle in a reckless or careless manner
- Illegal passing
- Brake checking
- Excessive horn use
- Cutting other drivers off
- Weaving in and out of traffic
- Confrontational body language
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Flashing headlights or high beams
- Tailgating or following improperly
- Blocking other cars trying to pass or change lanes
- Driving on the shoulder, sidewalk or median of the road
- Disregarding traffic signs and signals
- Running red lights or stop signs
- Failure to obey safety zones
- Not using a turn signal
- Speeding & Racing
There are many reasons people display aggressive driving behaviors. A recent study has linked the condition known as, Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) as leaving subjects prone to acts of aggressive driving and road rage. Oftentimes other troubles in our daily lives simply spill out onto the open road.
Speeding
Have you ever laughed at a driver who carelessly sped past you only to be stopped by the same red light mere seconds later? According to the Governor’s Highway Association, speeding is responsible for every one out of three accidents.
Frequently we speed when we’re rushing and running late. Yet speeding increases your chances of being in an auto accident. It’s a behavior that significantly reduces your reaction times to sudden events in the road.
Engine size and speed capabilities can be strong motivators when it comes to car purchases. The exhilarating thrill of a car’s horsepower as it zooms down the road is attractive to many, especially young men and teens – the two groups who most often lose their lives to speeding.
In the event of a car crash, the higher the speed the more severe the damage to body and property. Facial lacerations, traumatic brain injury, paralyzing spinal cord damage, even decapitation are common injuries in high-speed collisions.
Road Rage
It’s hard to believe that drivers manuals from the 1970s actually encouraged drivers to express their anger towards other drivers on the road by yelling in their cars. Consequently, road rage is the legacy of this behavior, where drivers allow a minor upset to develop into a full-blown fit that overshadows safe driving decisions.
Frequent road rage violations encompass everything from giving people the finger, throwing objects, ramming, and side-swiping, to brandishing weapons and discharging firearms.
Tailgating
Cars are meant to go relatively fast, so it makes sense you would be annoyed when you get in your car and traffic is moving at a snail’s pace. The typical response is to get as close to the rear of the car in front of you as possible. But tailgating is a sure way to end up in a rear-end collision.
Driving to close and tailgating compromises perception and reaction times, which can have drastically terrible consequences depending on the size and weight of the vehicles involved. Not leaving an adequate safety cushion between your car and a tractor-trailer or semi-truck could end your life.
How Aggressive Behaviors Affect Your Drive
It’s all too easy to respond to aggressive drivers with the same level of hostility, but this does no one any good. Allowing anger and vengeance to consume you makes a great plotline in a story, but a gruesome reality in the event of a car accident.
Driving can turn from a pleasant necessity to a dreadful chore when we let combativeness get the best of us.
Ways to Combat Aggressive Drivers
Since you can’t possibly be responsible for the behaviors of others on the road, rise above aggression by not participating in it. For example, staying calm when confronted with a cluster of traffic congestion. Other ways to diffuse aggressive drivers are:
- Maintain a safe distance
- Avoid making eye contact
- Do not pass unless you have to
- Don't jump lanes without looking, and only change lanes once it is safe to do so
- If you cannot avoid an aggressive driver behind you, stay where you are, maintain the proper speed, and do not respond with hostile gestures
- Call 911 to report an aggressive driver or a driver you believe may be impaired
When to Call an Attorney
It’s vital you speak to a car accident attorney as soon as possible after a crash. At The Flood Law Firm, we’re proud of the help we have offered to Connecticut residents who have been seriously injured in car accidents with an aggressive driver.
We can ensure that the proper claims are filed in a timely manner, investigate the accident, and advise you on your legal rights to compensation for property damage, medical bills, pain and suffering. We offer free case evaluations at no obligation to you. Please contact us today at (877) 987-9529.
