Understanding Road Rage and Aggressive Driving

Avoiding Nevada car accidents is a complex affair, demanding a balance of intimacy with traffic law, patience, caution, and steady observation. As such, you’ve assuredly heard of road rage before, whether you’ve seen it in others or fallen victim to it yourself. However, just getting angry behind the wheel doesn’t inherently qualify as road rage, nor does acting on that anger—the AAA defines road rage and aggressive driving as two separate, but similar, instances that can both cause catastrophic auto accidents.

Aggressive driving is a set of dangerous, reckless behaviors brought on by anger, but which aren’t made with the explicit intent of injuring others or damaging property. This constitutes a civil traffic offense and usually includes excessive speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, running red lights, not using turn signals or giving other drivers time to react, and otherwise acting with little regard for safety.

Road rage, conversely, is a targeted, criminal offense in which drivers knowingly and maliciously attempt to cause accidents, assault others, or damage property. These incidents can be relatively mild, such as when a driver curses or excessively honks at another driver, or extremely severe, such as in cases where drivers may ram other vehicles or depart their vehicle entirely to physically assault a driver or pedestrian.

Why Drivers Lash Out

The causes of road rage accidents are complex but tend to stem from circumstances beyond the obvious events of day-to-day traffic. Traffic jams, being cut off, having one’s right of way violated, and other annoyances on the road can certainly contribute to feelings of anger, yet are often merely focal points that drivers may choose to take out their aggression on, or proverbial straws on the camel’s back. 

As such, it’s important to not take it personally if another driver lashes out at something you’ve done; they’re only human, and while you don’t deserve to be the target of aggression, you should avoid engaging them or growing angry yourself. Road rage can be infectious, as discourteous, reckless actions can annoy and destabilize other drivers on the road; if you witness or are involved in a road rage scenario, stay calm, call the police, and keep yourself safe. 

The Consequences of Road Rage Accidents

Nevada car accidents caused by road rage and aggressive driving alike tend to be more severe on average, given that one or both parties may be speeding, unwilling to drive defensively, and are prone to make very poor decisions in the heat of the moment. Raging drivers also have an especially high risk of committing a hit-and-run accident, resulting in needless complications and fatalities as a result of their reckless disregard for the safety of others.

If you’ve been hurt in a Nevada crash caused by aggression, you deserve extensive reimbursement, including a satisfactory set of punitive damages to serve justice and compensate you for being the target of malicious or criminal activity. Aaron Law Group’s compassionate Las Vegas auto accident attorneys can help you with your claims process at every stage, so give us a call today at (702) 550-1111 to schedule your free consultation.