Car Accidents Caused by Reckless Drivers or Road Rage

As much as we hate to admit it, Florida is a state that is notorious for having bad drivers. When you factor in senseless behavior such as road rage, this can create a volatile mix that’s a recipe for catastrophic injuries. Many times, reckless driving or road rage can lead to tragic fatalities.

Why does this happen? Why do people get so enraged behind the wheel that they turn their vehicles into weapons? You’ll find some of the potential reasons below.

If you’ve suffered a severe injury due to reckless driving or road rage, please don’t hesitate to contact the Jones Law Group just as fast as you possibly can. Our attorneys have a lot of experience in holding aggressive drivers responsible for their actions, helping our clients obtain significant compensation in the process.

Learn more about how we may be able to help you by using our online contact form or giving us a call at 727-571-1333.

What is Considered “Reckless” Driving?

Just about everyone has encountered a reckless driver at some time or another. You might have been traveling the speed limit, only to see someone rush past you so fast their car was nothing but a blur. Or, you might have had to deal with someone staying on your bumper and refusing to move around you.

In a nutshell, someone is considered to be driving recklessly when they operate a vehicle in a way that puts others on the road in danger. These are just a few examples.

• Running a stop sign or a red light.
• Failing to yield.
• Failing to use turn signals.
• Making unsafe, erratic lane changes
• Driving on the shoulder of a highway, or even in the median or a sidewalk.

This type of behavior is a recipe for disaster. If you’ve been the victim of a reckless driver, a car accident attorney with the Jones Law Group will do everything possible to make sure you get every penny you deserve.

Why Do People Have Road Rage?

It seems that just more people than ever are stressed out these days. Watch the news for about five minutes and you’ll see why. But some people get so mad that they don’t have any way of controlling their rage – even when they’re driving a vehicle. As you’ve probably already experienced the hard way, road rage is more prevalent than ever before in Florida.

Whether you’re driving at highway speed, or you’re just trying to find a spot in your grocery store parking lot, there is, unfortunately, a fairly good chance that you’re going to encounter someone with road rage.

What makes people this way? Here are three potential causes.

• Nobody likes heavy traffic, of course. But while the vast majority of us can keep our cool, there are far too many people who simply can’t handle it. They get incredibly frustrated, and they can go off into a rage as a result.
• Some drivers see the highway in much the same way they view the internet – a place that offers complete anonymity. This might make them feel bolder, and make them more likely to cut off other motorists, honk at them, or make gestures.
• When someone sees another driver texting and driving, that can enrage them to the point that they act erratically. While texting when operating a vehicle is something no one should do, there’s no excuse for raging against the person who’s doing it.

How Can Reckless and Aggressive Driving Cause Accidents?

You don’t need to be overly imaginative to see how reckless or aggressive driving could lead to catastrophe. When someone is in an irrational state of mind, they’re more likely to make mistakes. If they do this while operating a machine that weighs thousands of pounds, the consequences can be devastating.

These are just a few of the ways these drivers can cause horrible wrecks to occur.

• racing other cars
• passing on blind curves
• weaving in and out of traffic constantly

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted an in-depth analysis of fatal accidents that occurred between 2003 and 2007. Of the 106,727 accident fatalities studied, researchers found that nearly 56 percent of them died due to another driver’s aggressive behavior. This is a staggeringly needless loss of life.

Proving the At-Fault Driver Acted with Aggression

You may be 100% convinced that the other driver caused your accident due to aggressiveness or road rage. The hard fact is that it doesn’t matter how sure you are. The only way you’re going to obtain the compensation you deserve is to prove that driver’s negligence.

The good news is that there are several ways your attorney can uncover the truth. They could obtain footage from any nearby cameras, or from the dashcam of any police vehicles that were nearby. They can also call in experts in accident reconstruction to prove that the other driver was to blame. Attorneys can also call on witnesses who saw what happened.

This is just one of the many reasons you’ll need to hire an attorney as fast as possible.

How Does Aggression Factor into Your Claim?

If your attorney can obtain that evidence, there’s a very good chance you’ll be compensated for your damages. This is a legal term that simply means the monetary losses you’ve suffered because of the accident.

In most car accidents, victims can obtain compensation for damages such as medical bills and lost wages. But in some rare instances, victims are awarded punitive damages as well – and these are typically much, much higher.

Punitive damages, as the name implies, are meant to punish the negligent party. If anyone deserves to have to pay punitive damages, it’s a driver who was so angry with the world that they severely injured you. While punitive damages are very rarely awarded, they are more common in cases that involve particularly reckless or aggressive driving.

Contact a Car Accident Attorney Today to Schedule a Free Case Evaluation

The car accident attorneys with the Jones Law Group will do everything they can to help you obtain as much money as possible. We will work incredibly hard to hold that negligent, reckless driver accountable for the suffering you’re experiencing. Contact us online or call 727-571-1333 for a free consultation to learn more.