Every driver in Long Beach, California, has probably witnessed irritated drivers turning into aggressive drivers who take retaliatory action. For short-tempered drivers, the line between irritation and road rage is thin. Nationwide, injuries caused by road rage-related car accidents or assaults exceed 12,000 injuries, and more than 200 lives have been lost in the past seven years.
The most common triggers for road rage include the following:
- Heavy traffic frustrates impatient drivers, who could react aggressively to the smallest inconveniences.
- Drivers distracted by their cellphones who swerve and inadvertently cut off other drivers.
- Impatient drivers often believe that nobody else’s appointments are as important as their own.
- Irritated drivers use the screen of anonymity to take their frustrations out on other drivers that they likely will never see again.
Typical actions of enraged drivers include tailgating, honking, yelling, cutting off others and intentional ramming. Victims of road rage could minimize confrontation risks by taking the following steps:
- Remain calm: Retaliatory actions like brake checking, blocking or making rude gestures in response could provoke such drivers.
- Keep going: Stopping on the shoulder or pulling into a parking lot could be seen as an invitation to personal confrontation, which could become violent.
- Steer clear: Wanting to get away from them is natural, but weaving through other traffic or speeding is dangerous.
- The best defense of drivers who are harassed, followed or tailgated is to pull into the nearest police station.
Injured victims of road rage-related car accidents in California might have grounds to seek financial relief. Filing a personal injury lawsuit in a civil court might lead to the recovery of monetary and other damages.
