Road Rage Statistics That Will Make You Mad

You don't have to look very far to find examples of road rage when you're behind the wheel. It could be the aggressive driver who cuts in and out of traffic without signaling. It could be the motorist who tailgates someone they feel is driving too slowly. It could even be the person you see when you look in the mirror.

Statistics put road rage into a frightening perspective. Nearly 80 percent of drivers report experiencing aggression or road rage, with eight million drivers purposefully hitting other vehicles or confronting drivers, according to a AAA poll in 2016. Other alarming numbers as reported by driversed.com:

• 50 percent of drivers respond to aggressive driving with similar acts, ranging from horn-honking, light-flashing, rude gestures and shouting to tailgating, short-braking and even bumping.
• About 2 percent of drivers admit to attempting to run another aggressive driver off the road.
• 37 percent of road rage incidents involve a firearm.
• 66 percent of traffic fatalities are linked to aggressive driving.
• About 30 murders are linked to road rage each year.

"There's a lot of evidence that some people feel pretty grounded in other social situations - friends, family, work - but somehow when they get in the car, there's this Jekyll and Hyde transformation," says Dr. Robert Nemerovski, a therapist in Marin County, California.

Minimizing involvement is the key to improving safety

While you have no control over how others drive, experts like Nemerovski say you can minimize your potential involvement in road rage incidents. They suggest giving yourself a little extra time to reach a destination so you won't feel like you are in a rush, recognizing your own state of mind to prevent overreaction, making a conscious effort to be more forgiving of other drivers, practicing safe driving to avoid angering other motorists, and, if necessary, getting professional help if you have trouble with your emotions when behind the wheel.

Nonetheless, aggressive drivers represent a danger. One could cause an accident that leaves you badly injured, unable to work or provide for your family, and with major medical bills. Given the nature of such accidents, you're likely involved in an ugly legal battle with someone who is irrational and unwilling to admit they were at fault; in fact, they will probably blame you for the cause of the accident.

At worst, your family could be grieving the loss of a loved one. Insurance companies will take advantage of your vulnerability by trying to get you to accept a financial settlement that is nowhere near what you need to survive or deserve to compensate you for your loss.

At such an emotional time, you need an experienced auto accident attorney at The Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick, LLC in Rockville, Maryland, on your side. They have been handling cases just like yours for decades in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. Don't get mad - get help.