California is among 15 states that have taken a proactive approach to aggressive driving. The behavior, which can be difficult to pinpoint unless you examine the sum of its parts, is responsible for many a car accident.

• Speeding. The Insurance Information Institute (III) identifies speeding as a contributing factor to crashes caused by aggressive driving. This behavior may refer to driving at unsafe speeds for current road conditions or a blatant failure to observe the speed limit.
• Erratic driving. You have undoubtedly seen motorists who weave in and out of lanes without displaying turn signals. Passing where it is unsafe to do so, these drivers frequently slam on their brakes when following too closely or cut off other drivers to gain a more advantageous position in traffic.
• Illegal traffic maneuvers. The aggressive motorist may drive on the shoulder or median and then forcefully enter the flow of traffic by cutting in front of another driver.

It is not unusual to see multiple factors of this behavior combine to form a motorist’s profile. Witness statements and accident investigations show that speeding, in particular, has been associated with the vast majority of deadly car accidents. In other cases, speeding, which may be part of aggressive driving, was only one driver behavior. Others included driving while impaired, distracted driving and drowsy driving.

If you have been involved in a car accident where aggressive driving may have been a factor, remember that you have specific rights. Although you, or the driver in whose vehicle you were riding as a passenger, may have done everything possible to avoid an accident, the behavior of the other motorist made the crash unavoidable. Before you settle with the insurance company, contact us to find out what your rights are and how to protect them.