California motorists may have noticed several high-profile road rage incidents in the news lately, including the story of a Wisconsin woman who was shot dead while trying to teach her teen son to drive. Unfortunately, these incidents are not isolated.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatal road rage accidents have spiked significantly. In 2006, there were only 80 deadly road rage incidents, but that number skyrocketed to 467 in 2015. Meanwhile, a nonprofit news agency reported that incidents involving drivers who threaten other drivers with a gun or fire a gun at other motorists jumped from 247 in 2014 to 620 in 2016. In addition, a survey from the American Automobile Association’s Foundation for Traffic Safety found that almost 80% of U.S. drivers admit to displaying anger, aggression or road rage behind the wheel in the last 12 months. For instance, 51% admit they have tailgated on purpose, 47% admit to yelling at other motorists, 45% admit to honking their horn out of annoyance or anger, and 33% admit to making obscene gestures. Worse, 24% of those polled said they have tried to block another vehicle from making a lane change, 12% said they have purposely cut off other vehicles, 4% said they have left their vehicle to confront another motorist, and 3% have actually hit another driver on purpose.
To cut down on road rage incidents, road safety experts suggest that drivers try to reduce stress in their lives and pay attention to the road at all times. Drivers are also urged to assume any mistakes made by other motorists are innocent and not to escalate any road rage situations that they may encounter.
Victims of road rage car crashes might be owed compensation for their medical bills and other losses. They could learn more about their legal options by contacting a personal injury attorney for advice.