Steven A. Bagen | August 23, 2024 | Car Accidents
Road rage is considered an anger-driven response to a traffic incident. If a motorist causes an accident resulting from road rage, they should be financially liable for any harm or damage they cause, usually through auto insurance.
Furthermore, anyone hit by an angry driver must prove the other party was at fault to recover compensation for their losses. These scenarios are where hiring a Gainesville car accident lawyer is key.
Three Common Forms of Road Rage
There are many different types of road rage, but the three following examples are common and regularly lead to collisions. You must be aware of the risks involved and know what to do to protect yourself if a road raging driver causes you injuries due to one of the following behaviors.
Tailgating
Some drivers might use this tactic to intimidate you by pulling up to your back bumper and closing the distance between vehicles. The safe distance for motor vehicles is one car length per ten miles per hour. At high speeds, another driver following too closely can be terrifying.
There are few scenarios more worrying than an intimidating driver behind you, expressing their frustrations or trying to assert dominance. Tailgaters often seek retribution or desire to enact power over fellow drivers.
One abrupt brake and the car behind can easily crash into you, causing injuries like whiplash or much worse. With every mile-per-hour increase in speed, the risk of severe injury in a rear-end collision increases.
For example, if a tailgating driver hits your car, it might send your vehicle into another lane or, worse, across the double yellow line into oncoming traffic. This kind of dangerous driving presents a risk not only to you but also to other nearby drivers—even with a tap of the bumper.
While it might seem obvious that a tailgating driver should be liable for the accident and your losses, proving liability is not always simple. You should always discuss your collision with a car accident lawyer who can prove the liability of the road-raging driver.
Cutting You Off in Traffic
Even the slightest thing can provoke a reaction from the wrong driver, causing them to seek revenge by cutting you off. Some drivers are motivated by one-upmanship, weaving in front of your car, causing you to brake or react suddenly.
Certain drivers need others to know who they are dealing with or to establish fear. This form of automotive dominance might cause you to swerve or collide with them from behind. Such threatening behavior is highly intimidating and often criminal.
Meanwhile, trying to swerve to avoid these drivers may not work. The raging driver can hit the brakes in front of you, causing you to damage the front of your car and suffer injuries. You might also swerve into another lane, hitting an adjacent car due to the driver who cut you off. The worst-case scenario is that you lose control of your car or cause a multi-vehicle pileup.
Hostile motorists make driving stressful and potentially life-threatening. What’s more, there is very little you can do to avoid such behavior when confronted with road rage on the road. If you sustain injuries and damage in a road rage crash, you should always seek the justice you deserve with help from a car accident attorney.
Intentional Bumping
While tailgating and cutting off other cars are bad enough, for some high-anger drivers, it is not the worst conduct possible. The most rageful motorists might go a step further, intentionally crashing into or ramming your car. This action is a form of criminal assault.
If a driver bumps your car on purpose, they put your life at risk. The shock of being struck can affect your ability to steer the vehicle safely, often causing you to lose control. A large car or SUV weighs between 3,000 and 6,000 pounds, so using one to strike your vehicle consciously is not different from using a deadly weapon to hurt you. Drivers who do this may think they are sending a message, but they are engaging in deadly conduct.
If another driver hits your car intentionally, you need the right car accident attorney to prove they are at fault. Moreover, a Gainesville car accident lawyer can seek every dollar of compensation you deserve following such intolerable and dangerous behavior.
Who is More Likely to Commit Road Rage?
Certain individual characteristics may be more likely to lead to road rage incidents, though it doesn’t mean anybody is exempt. Any motorist can potentially lose their temper, given the right conditions.
Some of those most likely to commit road rage include:
Young Adult Men
While making assumptions based on age and gender alone is unfair, most road rage occurrences (96.6 percent) involve young adult men. To reinforce this, one study showed that masculine characteristics contributed to aggressive driving.
People With Anger Issues
Some personality traits contribute to the likelihood of road rage. These include the inability to regulate anger and the propensity to blame others. Furthermore, modern urbanized living and an unsatisfactory working life can damage some people’s mental health.
Drug or Alcohol Abusers
Substance abuse has a potentially strong influence on road rage — especially alcohol. Situations like concerts, festivals, or sporting events present conditions where drinking and driving intersect.
Drivers with Personality Disorders
Mental complications such as antisocial or borderline personality disorder tick all the boxes of a road rage aggressor. Such mental conditions may be displayed through impulsivity, inappropriate anger, or unease with one’s surroundings.
Those Who Enter Their Car in a Distressed State
Being emotionally unstable can impact decision-making and put a driver on edge from the start. If someone gets behind the wheel already in an emotionally stressful state, they can be a risk to others.
Drivers Who Cover More Miles
After many hours at the wheel, general fatigue can soon take its toll on a driver’s nerves. The more miles someone drives, the higher the likelihood of frustration and a road rage episode.
People Running Behind Schedule
Those in a hurry can be a risk to others, especially when certain actions result in their tardiness; these include:
- Ignoring stop signs and red lights
- Tailgating
- Weaving through other cars
- Being impatient with other motorists
- Cutting fellow drivers off
- Using the hard shoulder illegally
- Speeding
When Might Road Rage Happen?
There are several occasions when road rage might occur and for many reasons. Drivers might need to show extra awareness of road rage potential when:
They Are Stuck in Traffic
Traffic can present a road rage threat for many reasons:
- Traffic jams make people late for meetings or appointments
- Impatient drivers might drive aggressively to gain valuable road yards
- Inconsiderate driving may be behind the congestion, pushing the limits of others’ tolerance
- Being caught in a traffic jam is not enjoyable for almost everybody involved
Slow traffic creates perfect conditions for road rage due to driver impatience and the tight spaces between cars. Moreover, being in such proximity means enraged motorists can easily exit their cars to confront other drivers, yell threats, and more.
Reacting to the Mistakes of Other Drivers
Motorists might react badly when another driver makes a mistake that forces them to take evasive action. Other drivers might:
- Cause potential collisions or near-misses through their driving
- Tailgate others
- Miss vital signs or lights, making intersections riskier
- Drift into a lane without using a signal
- Cut other drivers off
When someone else does something dangerous on the road, some drivers become angry and react with dangerous and aggressive conduct of their own.
Environmental Factors and Road Rage
Many environmental or non-psychological factors may cause a road rage-related accident. The variables that increase your chances of a road rage incident are:
Surroundings
Built-up urban settings have more cars and less room for maneuvering a vehicle, leading to higher road rage potential. Drivers who must negotiate busy city roads daily can be at more risk of a road rage encounter.
Weather
Considering how inclement weather affects car performance and safety, weather can also contribute to road rage. For example, road rage incidents spike during the summer months due to a correlation between heat and aggression.
Location
Certain U.S. states have higher rates of aggressive driving than others. Researching local road rage statistics will show drivers the risks in their area.
Time of Day
The post-work evening traffic creates more tension because of tired workers with lower patience thresholds. More road rage events take place between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Will a Car Accident Lawyer Take My Case?
If you can prove you suffered an injury as the victim of another’s road rage, an accident lawyer will likely represent you. Speaking to a law firm near you will inform you whether your case is worth pursuing.
Using a lawyer to represent you in a traffic accident case has many advantages, including:
- Paying your accident claim costs: The law firm you employ can cover the costs of a case, meaning you won’t need to cover the fees yourself. In addition to leaving no expenses unaddressed in the case, victims can expect a winning legal team.
- Taking your case further: There are times when an insurance firm offers a lowball settlement and will not budge in negotiations. Your car accident attorney can escalate the matter and file a lawsuit when necessary.
- Accident Claim Experience: Naturally, having an experienced lawyer is the first step toward a successful settlement or judgment. Lawyers will know how to pursue a case and avoid delays.
- Health Recovery: Recovering from an injury is hard enough without the added stress of an accident claim. By using a lawyer to represent your legal needs, you can focus on regaining your health.
Motorists should understand that a lawyer is far better positioned to win them compensation if they have an auto accident claim. For this reason, always consult with a car accident attorney as soon as possible following injuries from a road rage incident.
What Will A Car Accident Attorney Offer?
A car accident lawyer’s job is to win the maximum compensation for their clients. To reach this goal, lawyers need to:
- Gather all the necessary and available evidence to support their client’s compensation claim. Common forms of evidence might include video footage, a police report, eyewitness testimonies, and expert accounts related to the event.
- List and prove all damages their client sustained (usually obtained through injury photos, medical records, professional testimonies on the physical injuries, car damage report, and medical bills).
- Determine all losses, including economic and non-economic damages.
- Negotiate insurance settlements.
- Take necessary settlement offers to their clients and educate them on how it will cover their post-accident losses.
- Take the case to trial if the situation calls for it.
Insurance companies understand the implications of a case going to trial with a jury. The possibility of a trial might lead to successful negotiations. Therefore, following a low settlement offer, a Gainesville car accident lawyer can fight for better compensation with the added leverage of taking the case to a jury trial.
What Damages Can a Lawyer Secure?
Car accident attorneys will examine your case and consider the following damages in their settlement request:
- Pain and Suffering: Any physical or mental pain and suffering arising from a road rage accident, including pain from injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Medical Bills: The cost of all recovery and pharmaceutical needs for your injuries.
- Work-Related Damages: The time lost through recovery or injury that affects a plaintiff’s job or lost earnings.
- Damaged Property: The cost of any vehicle repairs, car rentals necessary through lost vehicles, and any other property damaged in the accident.
Of course, the worst outcome is a fatality; a road rage accident attorney can represent anyone who loses a close family member seeking justice for wrongful death.
Call a Car Accident Lawyer Right Away
If a road rage accident happens to you, a lawyer must file your case within a certain time, as each state has a statute of limitations for injury claims.
Calling a Gainesville car accident lawyer immediately will help them win the compensation you deserve. Consultations are free.