The Houston car accident injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that our roads are becoming more crowded as the population increases. And we’re all spending more and more of our time on the road as commute times lengthen. Unfortunately, that means that more frustrated drivers are losing their cool and taking out their road rage on other drivers, on passengers, and on bystanders.
Statistics from the U.S. NHTSA and an auto club reveal that:
Aggressive drivers might just have higher anger levels generally. But being on the road, semi-anonymous behind the wheel, provides an unfortunately convenient outlet for that anger. And our Board Certified Houston car accident injury attorneys caution that it just takes a distracted or inconsiderate driver to trigger that rage.
These angry drivers tend to speed more often, take greater risks on the road with your life and with their own, seek revenge against other drivers, weave in and out of other traffic at high sped, and tailgate. In simulation studies, they get more traffic tickets, have more near-misses on the road, and twice as many crashes as other drivers.
The actions of these angry and hostile drivers seem over the top to the rest of us. For instance, just recently in Houston after a minor fender bender accident, the driver of a Nissan threatened the elderly driver if the other vehicle. He reportedly said “You’ll be sorry you gave me your information. I’m going to find you and kill you and your family.” Then he physically attacked the man. The man’s son entered the fray to defend his father, and his defense proved fatal to the attacker. Click the link to learn more about road rage and what triggers it.