Most of us have encountered them before: they’re the drivers that you see weaving in and out of traffic lanes in front of you, or the car that tailgates you because he wants you to drive faster or move over. They cut people off, speed, and cross multiple lanes at once on interstates. These motorists are aggressive drivers. They are the close cousins of the “road rager.” The difference between the two is that the “road rager” uses his car as a weapon to either threaten or carry out an act of violence against other motorists.
Most of us prefer not to think of ourselves as dangerous people capable of harming or possibly killing others. However, when driving a car, angry thoughts and frustrations are easily converted into the dangerous maneuvers of 4,000 pounds of steel driven by hundreds of horsepower. When this becomes a habit, the person has become an aggressive driver and is at risk of causing car accidents that endanger himself and others on the road.
The Traits of an Aggressive Driver
- They perceive their cars as extensions of themselves. When traffic restricts their “freedom of movement” on the road, they will act out with their cars. This is why they aggressively tailgate slower cars. They also see the space occupied by their cars as their territory which they will defend against another aggressive driver.
- They have angry personalities. They are quickly angered by traffic disruptions such as road construction, stop and go traffic, slower drivers, drivers who are slow to respond to green lights, and so forth. Sometimes they vent their anger through aggressive actions with their car, yell obscenities, or make obscene gestures.
- They act impulsively. There is no doubt that driving can be frustrating. However, the difference between the frustrated ordinary driver and the aggressive driver is that the first merely feels frustrated while the latter acts on these feelings.
- They quickly jump to conclusions about motives. Aggressive drivers quickly jump to conclusions about the motivations behind what other drivers do. They almost invariably fault other drivers over road incidents and are incapable of sharing any blame. They sometimes take action to get even or to teach the other motorist a lesson.
If you were injured in a car accident caused by an aggressive driver, contact us for legal advice.