Related: Traffic Updates for Ohio River Bridge Construction
This construction also tests our patience. This is because traffic builds-up on highways, people can become impatient and your normal routes can become congested or closed. This is the perfect recipe for road rage. Do not let road rage ruin your day. Screaming or displaying rude gestures can trigger arguments. You never know when you’ll bump into aggressive drivers, so please try to remain calm.
Road rage statistics
Road rage has long been a problem on roadways. The National Highway for Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines aggressive driving as “the operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property”— a traffic and not a criminal offense like road rage. Examples include speeding or driving too fast for conditions, improper lane changing, tailgating and improper passing.” According to NHTSA, around 6,800,000 crashes happen in the United States each year. A substantial number of these accidents are said to be caused by aggressive driving.
In 1997 statistics compiled by NHTSA and the American Automobile Association, it was found that almost 13,000 people have been injured or killed since 1990 in aggressive driving-related incidents. Sixty-six percent of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving and 37% of these incidents involved a firearm. Also, the National Institute of Health spearheaded a study and found that road rage behavior was present in 5% to 7% of the nearly 10,000 drivers they studied. From this study, a general theory was formed about Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) being the cause of road rage.
Dealing with road rage
Road rage can happen at any time. This makes you wonder, how do you deal with road rage and aggressive drivers? Here are three tips:
- First, control your own behavior. You can never control another driver’s behavior, but you can control your own behavior. Drivers that cut you off on the road can be annoying. You need to learn to keep your cool. Try taking a deep breath and save yourself from a potentially violent encounter.
- Second, look into your driving habits. When you’re driving, you’re sharing the road with many others, such as pedestrians and cyclists. Practice safe driving habits and back off from instigators.
- Third, report to authorities. If you see an aggressive driver, don’t be afraid to report them to police officers. Authorities can take it from there to discipline the aggressor.
As a Kentucky Accident Attorney, I would like to remind everyone to not let rage get the best of you. Road rage has already claimed thousands of lives. I know it’s hard to fight it sometimes, but it’s important that we learn to control our road rage. There’s no need to get into an accident because we got mad about someone passing us on the highway. If you feel yourself getting angry about something another driver did, take a deep breath, try not to let what they did bother you and stay focused on driving. This will help you not engage in road rage and keep you safe while you drive.