What Florida Motorists Can Do To Keep Safe From Aggressive Drivers
Corbin Sutter
Accident Lawyers
While dramatic road rage incidents might make Florida news, the average aggressive driver does not. Aggressive driving is a sort of cognitively distracted driving, as one allows their emotions to affect how they approach their actions on the road. This could mean an obscene gesture, it could mean speeding, it could mean getting out of the car to engage in a confrontation, or it could mean unsafely switching lanes when someone is going “too slow” on the freeway. In 2019, a study found that 82% of United States drivers surveyed admitted that they had taken part in aggressive driving practices in the past year. This means that 8 out of 10 drivers, on average, are not only familiar with aggressive driving, but they take part in it themselves.
Aggressive Driving And Traffic Fatalities
Aggressive driving, as a form of distracted driving, is a highly dangerous way to approach the road. An aggressive driver will not be thinking clearly, and their erratic behaviors will lead to shorter reaction times for themselves and the other motorists they’re sharing Florida roadways with. In 2020 it was found that 66% of traffic fatalities in the United States were caused by aggressive drivers.
Speeding is the most common form of aggressive driving. When statistics find that 82% of American drivers are guilty of driving aggressively in the past year, most aren’t shouting at other drivers, cutting vehicles off in traffic, or closely tailgating – they’re speeding. Speeding lessens reaction time, it leaves drivers unprepared for hazards or bends in the road, and it can cause drivers to miss traffic lights or signs, which is a large reason why speeding contributes to about 29% of all traffic fatalities in the United States.
Aggressive Driving Leads To Aggressive Driving
Aggressive driving doesn’t always stop at one driver, as recent studies have found that aggressive driving is actually quite “contagious”. For about half of drivers, aggressive driving will be responded to with aggressive driving or “retaliation” in return. This creates more erratic roadway situations that could ultimately cause accidents with other motorists on the road.
What Does Aggressive Driving Look Like?
Aggressive driving can take many forms. Some of the most common aggressive driving practices are:
• Erratically changing lanes in traffic
• Driving on the shoulder, sidewalk, or median to get ahead of traffic
• Passing other vehicles in no passing zones
• Following too closely, or “tailgating”
• Speeding
• Turning carelessly
• Suddenly changing speeds
• Reckless driving
• Failing to observe warnings, instructions, or traffic signs
• Recklessly using brakes