Most drivers have experienced being the target of an aggressive driver or have been involved in a road rage incident. Unfortunately, many of these incidents can end up turning into fatal car crashes.

Recent Road Rage Incident Goes Viral

One woman recently experienced road rage and recorded her experience on video. The video has gone viral and helped police arrest the aggressive driver.

The victim, a disabled grandmother who had her six-year-old granddaughter in her car, was driving on a two-lane road when an SUV began tailgating her. The SUV tried to pass her, and almost crashed head-on into another vehicle traveling the other way.

When the SUV tried to pass a second time, the woman pulled off to the side to let her do so, but the SUV almost ran her off the road. The woman then called 911 to report the SUV and began recording with her phone, which was in a holder mounted to the dashboard.

The video shows the SUV braking and stopping multiple times, and swerving and crossing the double line before coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road. The driver then gets out of the SUV and comes over to the victim’s car and tries to reach into the open window, which the victim rolls up.

Clearly angered, the SUV’s driver begins yelling and pounding on the victim’s car. The victim’s granddaughter can be heard screaming and crying in the background of the video, clearly terrified by the SUV’s driver’s actions. The driver of the SUV then took off, but was later identified. The 40-year-old driver has been charged with reckless endangerment, assault and battery, damaging private property, crossing the center highway line and making threats.

Protect Yourself from Road Rage

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), road rage is defined when a driver “commits moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property” or is “an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of one motor vehicle on the operator or passengers of another motor vehicle.”

Road rage is responsible for almost 70 percent of traffic fatalities each year. When encountering an aggressive driver, there are several steps you can take to avoid becoming a crash statistic. These tips include:

• Do everything to get out of the aggressive driver’s way;
• Do not “challenge” your right to be there by speeding your vehicle up or slowing it down;
• Do not make eye contact with the other driver;
• Do not respond to any obscene gesture the other driver makes;
• Do not honk your horn at the driver;
• Report the driver to law enforcement;
• Keep your doors and windows locked; and
• Do not go home if you are being followed. Instead, drive directly to a police station.

Contact a Connecticut Personal Injury Attorney

If you have been injured in a car accident caused in a road rage incident, please consult an experienced Westport personal injury attorney today to find out what legal action you may be able to take against the aggressive driver for your pain and loss.