A study by the  AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported  that between 2003 and 2007, over 106,000 people died in auto accidents due to potentially-aggressive driver actions.  According to the study, aggressive driving is defined as 

“when individuals commit a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property.”

Additionally, the report states that it can also be the intent of the offender as much as the offense and that  “unsafe driving behavior, performed deliberately and with ill intention ordisregard for safety, can constitute aggressive driving.”

It’s interesting to note that in a survey of drivers, everyone seemed to know aggressive driving when they see it and they condemn it; however nearly fifty percent of those surveyed said in the past thrity days they driven 15 miles per hour over the speed limit on the highway and approx. 15 percent exceeded the speed limit in residential areas by 15 miles per hour.  They also admitted to purposefully running a red light, speeding up to make it through a yellow light, following too close to try to speed up a driver in front, or blowing their horn at other drivers.

The study considered the following actions, if done intentionally, would be considered potentially-aggressive actions:

• Following improperly
•  Improper or erratic lane changing
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• Illegal driving on road shoulder, in ditch, or on sidewalk or median
• Passing where prohibited by posted signs, pavement markings, hill or curve, or schoolbus displaying warning not to pass, passing on wrong side, passing with insufficientdistance or inadequate visibility or failing to yield to overtaking vehicle
• Operating the vehicle in an erratic, reckless, careless, or negligent manner or suddenly changing speeds
• Failure to yield right of way
• Failure to obey traffic signs, traffic control devices, or traffic officers, failure to observe safety zone traffic laws
• Failure to observe warnings or instructions on vehicle displaying them
• Failure to signal
• Driving too fast for conditions or in excess of posted speed limit
• Racing
• Making an improper turn

So what do you do if you encounter an angry, aggressive driver?  First you should report it to the police by calling 911.  Avoid eye contact with the driver or passengers which may be perceived as a threat.  Do not respond to gestures or shouting as this may lead to a more aggressive response from the driver.  It’s best to just back off and let them through traffic with the hope that law enforcement will catch up with them down the road. 

Remember, you can’t control the way other people drive and it’s up to you to be the better person and just stay out of the way of an aggressive driver.  It’s much safer for both you and your passengers.