When you run late for work or are stuck in a traffic jam and someone cuts you off, you are likely to feel stressed out. Road rage can be scary, especially when the driver hurls insults and profanities at you. It is when another driver becomes mad due to slow traffic or an altercation. Anyone who has been a victim of road rage while driving in Colorado knows that the experience can wear you down. Not only is road rage intimidating but it can also lead to physical harm.
The aggressive driving of the other driver can even cause an accident. This is why it is important that you work with a Personal Injury Lawyer Colorado to recover damages and ensure that the reckless driver does not hurt anyone in the future. Feeling angry when driving only makes things worse. Similarly, distracted driving is just as dangerous.
What Is Road Raging?
Aggressive driving has various forms including speeding, weaving, and tailgating. In fact, it is extremely common as close to 80% of drivers experience anger or aggression when they get behind the wheel. However, the consequences can be deadly. Studies show that aggressive driving causes 56% of fatal crashes.
Road Raging Factors
There are various factors that are to blame for road rage incidents as mentioned below.
- Learned or Habitual Behavior: Some drivers have a tendency to drive aggressively.
- Disregard for the Law and Others: For some drivers, they believe that the rules should not apply to them. They also do not care about other people on the road.
- Anonymity: When drivers think that they would not see the same drivers again, they engage in more risky driving behaviors such as making rude gestures, excessive honking, cutting people off, and tailgating.
- Running Late: Many drivers are involved in road raging when they run late for an appointment or meeting. However, their impatience can take a toll on others around them.
- Traffic Delays: Anger levels increase when people have to wait for passengers, look for parking space, sit at stoplights, and deal with heavy traffic.
The Most Common Forms of Road Raging
- Making angry gestures
- Honking angrily
- Yelling
- Tailgating
- Ramming or bumping another car on purpose
- Getting out of the car to confront others
- Cutting off other vehicles on purpose
- Block another vehicle and prevent it from changing lanes
What You Need To Do If Someone Is Road Raging On You?
- Isolate and Secure
The moment you take notice of someone overtaking you by road rage and targeting you, you need to make sure that you are safe. Roll up the windows and lock the doors immediately. This is especially important when you are stuck in heavy traffic and the other driver can easily hop out of their vehicle.
- Seek Vehicle Information
Next, what you need to do is gather information if the situation quickly escalates and leads to property damage. You simply cannot expect to get the information later on. Hence, you have to act immediately. Make sure to get the license plate number along with the model of the vehicle.
- Avoid Escalation of the Situation
When someone is road-raging, you need to ensure that you underact or avoid reacting at all. The fact is that any type of reaction would result in the situation escalating. Thus, you must be careful. Avoid honking, making eye contact, or returning any of the insults or gestures.
- Get Out of the Way
The best action that you can take when someone is road raging on you is to get out of their way. Let the driver be upset somewhere else rather than take out their anger on you. All you have to do is put on your signal and move as soon as possible and let them pass by. When they do pass by, you should let them drive away so that there is a distance between the two of you.
- Give Space
Being stuck in heavy traffic and next to someone who is road-raging requires is not the ideal situation. What you need to do is give them enough space so that they get to leave. Although traffic jams can make anyone a stressed-out mess, you should not let anyone creep up too closely behind your car as it would only result in road rage episodes.
- Look for a Safe Spot
Instead of driving persistently to your home, you must be concerned about your safety. Otherwise, the aggressive driver would follow you and increase the chances of an altercation. It is a good idea to drive to a large store or police store to get them to leave you alone.
- Reach for Legal Help
If you suffer from an injury or damages due to a road rage incident, you must contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Colorado to claim damages. Besides, the attorney will walk you through the entire situation so that you do not get stressed out.
Comments are closed.