If you drive on Texas roads or highways with any regularity, you have probably experienced more than one occasion when another driver nearly collided with you. It is also possible that instead of a near miss, you ended up in the hospital with injuries from an accident. If you are the victim of a motor vehicle accident, there is a 33% chance that your accident resulted from another driver’s road rage.
Road rage can involve a number of different behaviors drivers use to take out their aggression or impatience. Many times, a traffic incident will escalate to road rage when one driver becomes unreasonably incensed by another driver’s minor mistake. Aggressive drivers who take their rage out behind the wheel seem to forget that they are operating a vehicle weighing two tons or more and that their vehicle becomes a weapon against other drivers.
Tempers run high on the highway
Certainly, other drivers can be frustrating. You may get behind someone who is driving well below the posted speed limit. Another driver may pull out in front of you or change lanes without warning. While most drivers can let these moments pass without incident, others take them personally and allow their anger to overtake their good sense.
In fact, a recent survey of drivers revealed that more than half believe it is normal to drive at least 10 mph over the posted speed limit even though studies show that high speed can be devastating for those involved in a collision. Therefore, you may be like the other half who see speeding as aggressive driving that can lead to other types of road rage, including:
- Honking the horn
- Flashing headlights
- Shouting or swearing at other drivers
- Making obscene gestures
- Tailgating
- Slamming on the brakes when vehicles follow too close
- Tapping the bumper of another vehicle
- Forcing another vehicle off the road
Unfortunately for thousands of travelers, the results of a road rage incident may include an accident involving serious, life-changing injuries or even the tragic loss of a loved one. Additionally, you may be shocked to learn that almost 40% of road rage incidents escalate to include a weapon, most often a gun. About 30 people each year are murdered over a road rage event. As challenging as it may be to control one’s temper behind the wheel, more often these days it is a matter of life and death.
