Thankfully we live in a society where road rage is not common, but sadly it is something which still happens each day and affects many drivers across the country. The consequences of a road rage incident vary but if you speak to any road rage car accident lawyer they will tell you that things can often end very badly indeed. Everyone gets a bit angry from time to time on the road, but assaulting another driver is never right. These cases are diverse, and here are some facts which you need to know.
Causes of Road Rage
The cause of road rage is always a driver who cannot control their emotions, but there are some common reasons why this happens. The most frequent is tailgating, which is driving too close to the car in front, this results in around 26{e421c4d081ed1e1efd2d9b9e397159b409f6f1af1639f2363bfecd2822ec732a} of all road rage cases. Behind this we have talking on a mobile, which infuriates drivers in around 25{e421c4d081ed1e1efd2d9b9e397159b409f6f1af1639f2363bfecd2822ec732a} of these cases. Middle lane hogging is another popular reason for drivers losing control, which accounts for around 23{e421c4d081ed1e1efd2d9b9e397159b409f6f1af1639f2363bfecd2822ec732a} of all cases.
Criminal Offenses
Whilst we do have lawyers who are committed to working with victims of road rage, the term itself is actually not considered to be against the law. When the law is broken in these instances it is when the driver assaults the other driver, and that is the crime for which they will be punished. Road rage is in fact the motivation behind the assault, but we still categorize it differently in order to tackle the issue which exists.
Opinions Around Policing
A recent survey found that 63{e421c4d081ed1e1efd2d9b9e397159b409f6f1af1639f2363bfecd2822ec732a} of Americans believe that there should be more police on the roads, in order to discourage road rage. It was the opinion of those who were polled that the lack of highway police makes people believe that they can get away with these kinds of attacks. This may discourage such incidents, but we are still looking at law abiding citizens versus those who think that they can take it into their own hands.
Avoiding Road Rage
In almost all cases of road rage the victim has left the vehicle in order to engage with the other driver. This of course is done innocently, in the belief that they are perhaps going to have words with each other and then things escalate. The best advice is to never leave the car if you have an angry driver approach you, and that you call the police. If you have been involved in an accident then you should always call the police first anyway, which can help to reduce any flared tempers which result from an accident on the road.
If you find that you have a problem with aggression behind the wheel then you need to take action to avoid this from happening. If you do not then you could find yourself being sentenced to jail time if you are found guilty of causing damage to someone else, no matter what the reason happens to be.
