Miami Personal Injury Attorney Blog
Miami Car accident lawyers deal with people who were injured by aggressive driving or even road rage every day. Road rage is the more extreme form of aggressive driving such as people who get out of their car to confront or assault other drivers. It also includes drivers who intentionally run into other cars or people. Aggressive driving can take many forms and often plays a role in numerous Miami car accident injury cases. In our analysis, it’s getting worse every day. Now there is a study on aggressive driving that backs up our opinion.
According to a recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, almost 80% of drivers in the past year had expressed road rage, aggression or extreme anger on at least once occasion. The information was collected in a national survey of 2,705 drivers who were at least 16 years old and had driven in the past thirty days. In 2014, it is estimated that there were over 213 million licensed drivers in the U.S. according to the Federal Highway Administration.
This AAA study suggests that about 8 million drivers in the United States had engaged in significant road rage including getting out of their vehicle to confront other drivers or intentionally ramming other cars. The perception of almost two thirds of drivers believe that aggressive and angry driving has increased over the past three years. Ninety percent of us believe that road rage and aggressive driving is a serious and significant threat to our personal safety.
The AAA study indicates an alarming trend in U.S. drivers engaged in aggressive driving behavior in the past year including:
- Ramming or hitting another car or truck on purpose: 3 percent (5.7 million drivers)
- Cutting off other vehicles intentionally: 12 percent (24 million drivers)
- Jumping out of a car to confront other drivers: 4 percent (7.6 million drivers)
- Displaying angry and rude gestures: 33 percent (67 million drivers)
- Tailgating on purpose: 51 percent (104 million drivers)
- Hitting the horn to show anger or annoyance: 45 percent (91 million drivers)
- Yelling or shouting at other drivers: 47 percent (95 million drivers)
- Attempting to prevent or block other vehicles from changing lanes: 24 percent (49 million drivers)
One of the inherent problems in studies of extreme or even illegal actions is under-reporting. Many people simply don’t want to admit that they did something wrong even when it is anonymous. The AAA researchers took this fact into account. They stated that study participants may have under-reported aggressive driving actions because of “social desirability bias”. The researchers at AAA believed that the reality of aggressive driving may be even higher than their estimates as reported.
Younger Males Most Likely to Drive Aggressively
While road rage and aggressive driving varied by geography, gender and many other factors, one fact was clear. Miami car accident attorneys know it too. Younger males are most likely to drive aggressively. The AAA study estimated male drivers who were between the ages of 19-39 were much more likely to engage in aggressive driving. Male drivers were far more likely to get out of a car to confront another driver or to ram another vehicle on purpose. It is no surprise that young male drivers are generally charged the highest premiums for car insurance.
How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Aggressive Driving or Road Rage
Not surprisingly, it starts with you. You control what you can, understand what you cannot control and hope for the wisdom to know the difference. Miami car accident lawyers will tell you the best ways to avoid being a victim of road rage or aggressive driving is:
- Do No Harm: Don’t make another driver change their direction or speed. No “brake-checking” or swerving back and forth. No fake lane changes.
- Do Unto Others: Don’t assume someone’s driving mistake is personal to you. Maybe that other driver is just having a lousy day. You don’t know what burdens that driver is carrying. Be forgiving and be tolerant. Be the way you hope someone would be to you if you made a mistake.
- Never Respond: Keep that middle finger in its holster. Leave moms out of it. Avoid making eye contact. Keep safe space around your car. If it gets bad, stay calm and call 911.
- Be Patient: You will get where you are going. Drive safely. Play nice. Don’t text and drive. Respect the vehicle you are driving and the other drivers on the road.
Miami Car Accident Lawyers Representing Victims of Aggressive Driving
The Miami personal injury lawyers at Wolfson & Leon represent people injured in road rage or aggressive driving car crashes. These types of cases can present difficult and complex insurance issues such as exclusions of coverage for intentional acts. If you or your loved ones were injured in a Miami car accident involving aggressive driving or road rage, then you should consult a Miami car accident injury attorney. Wolfson & Leon offers bilingual, free and confidential consultations. Just call us today at (305) 285-1115 and we will get to work on your case.