Rosenbaum & Rosenbaum, P.C. | June 13, 2018 | Car Accidents, Truck Accidents

People can express aggressive behaviors in many different ways. When people think of aggressive drivers, images of red-faced individuals filled with road rage may pop into their heads. However, there are many forms of aggressive driving, and you may carry out some of those actions yourself.

Road rage and aggressive acts can easily lead to car accidents. Because you certainly want to avoid being the cause of such a serious incident, you may want to learn about actions considered aggressive and how you could help yourself avoid participating in potentially dangerous behaviors while behind the wheel.

Are you an aggressive driver?

You may be among the majority of people who feel that aggressive drivers pose a serious threat to others. What you may not realize, however, is that you may be an aggressive driver. Ask yourself the following questions to determine whether you have acted aggressively while operating a vehicle:

• Have you tailgated a vehicle going too slowly?
• Have you skirted through a red light even though you had time to stop?
• Have you failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign or failed to follow other traffic signs?
• Have you driven over the posted speed limit?
• Have you driven too fast for the weather or roadway conditions?
• Have you passed a vehicle in a no-passing zone or in areas with limited visibility?
• Have you unnecessarily honked your horn or flashed your headlights at other drivers?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have acted aggressively while on the road. You may not think too much of your actions because you did not carry them out while angry, as someone with road rage might, but you could still put yourself and others in danger. These actions could also provoke a negative emotional response from other travelers that could lead to additional aggressive actions.

How can you increase your safety?

You can become a safer driver by recognizing potentially dangerous behaviors in yourself and stopping those actions. You should also assess how you might deal with an aggressive driver. Your first instinct may be to act aggressively back, but it may help you avoid negative outcomes to simply get out of the other driver’s way as safely as possible and remain calm.

Unfortunately, you may not always have the ability to avoid aggressive drivers, and you could end up with serious injuries due to a car accident caused by another driver’s dangerous behaviors. If this type of incident does occur, you may have reason to seek compensation for damages permitted under New York state law.