Anybody who drives a motor vehicle knows about road rage in one way or another. Although most incidents merely involve obscene gestures or shouting, they sometimes escalate into property damage or personal injury. More than a handful have even resulted in death. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has defined road rage as committing “moving violations so as to endanger other persons or property.” It expands on the definition by characterizing the behavior as “assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of one motor vehicle on the operator or passengers of another motor vehicle.”
One Canadian study concluded that 96.6 percent of all people who committed road rage were males who averaged 33 years of age. Along with other factors, high levels of stress at work, dense traffic and the pressures of urban living have been highlighted. High rates of alcohol and substance abuse are also noted.
Road rage can quickly become terribly violent. On Christmas morning of 2016, an apparent road rage aggressor in Nashville was shot and killed by his victim after he allegedly punched the other driver with one hand while holding a knife in his other hand. As recently as February 20, 2017, another man was shot when two drivers exited their vehicles and confronted each other on the roadway near Lebanon, TN. That victim survived the shooting.
Most of us aren’t aggressive drivers, but all of us are human, and from time to time we do make mistakes. There are precautions that all of us can take to reduce the chances of being in a road rage event. Make these your personal rules of driving:
If you suddenly become the target of road rage, don’t stop to find out what the person’s problem is. The real problem is that you’re now a target.
As per the NHTSA, more than 1,500 people have died since 2008 in road rage crashes. There’s no room on the road for injuries or deaths caused by a driver’s anger. These crashes are 100 percent preventable, so drivers who cause collisions because they can’t control their emotions behind the wheel must be held accountable. Injuries from road rage can result in past and future medical bills, lost time from work and permanent disability and disfigurement. In the event of a wrongful death, families also incur funeral and burial expenses. We hold aggressive road rage drivers accountable for the damages that their victims have incurred.
If you were injured by what you believe was road rage or the carelessness and negligence of another driver, you can contact this office right away for a free consultation and case evaluation. There’s no obligation at all, and the best news is that if we’re retained to represent you or your family, there aren’t even any legal fees unless we obtain a settlement or verdict for you. Never give a statement to an opposing insurer. It will only try to use your statement against you in the future. Invoke and protect your rights by contacting us first.
