Road Rage In South Carolina
Without alcoholic beverages, there is no drunk driving. Without cell phones, there is considerably less distracted driving, as anyone who got a driver’s license before the age of the cell phone can tell you. The dangerous thing about road rage is that it has so many triggers. Anyone and anything on the road can get on anyone’s nerves, one angry driver annoys others, and it leads to a snowball effect of irritable, aggressive drivers. Although there are no laws that specifically impose penalties for driving while angry, road rage contributes directly to many accidents and causes distractions for all the drivers on the road. Confrontational driving behaviors almost always amount to fault for an accident, and in the worst cases, they cause accidents involving serious injury or death. If you have been injured in an accident where road rage was a contributing factor, contact a Columbia car accident lawyer.
Causes and Manifestations of Road Rage
There is no precise legal definition of road rage, but it encompasses a variety of aggressive and confrontational behaviors by drivers. There are some common examples of road rage:
- Intentionally cutting off other drivers
- Making it difficult or impossible for another driver to merge into your lane
- Honking your horn for reasons other than to alert a driver to a hazard, such as to express your impatience or frustration
- Following the car in front of you too closely
- Yelling at another driver from inside your car or making rude gestures
- Getting out of your car to argue with another driver
The proximate cause of road rage is usually an annoying or inconsiderate action by another driver. Of course, annoyances happen all the time, and not everyone loses their temper or takes out their anger on someone else. In other words, the underlying cause of road rage is usually that the confrontational driver was already angry or stressed about something else before he or she got behind the wheel. Road rage can happen anywhere that cars drive, but it is most common on highways and in parking lots.
How Bad Is Road Rage in South Carolina Compared to Other States?
A report recently published by Forbes Advisor ranked each state according to the prevalence of confrontational driving on its roads. South Carolina ranks 30th out of the 50 states, meaning that we have less road rage than the national average. 13.5 percent of the South Carolina drivers surveyed said that road rage occurs frequently in South Carolina, and 15 percent said that, at least once in their driver careers, another driver had gotten out of a car to confront them. The five states with the most confrontational drivers were Arizona, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, and Oklahoma. Among the least confrontational states were Louisiana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
Let Us Help You Today
The car accident lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you if you have been injured in a road rage-related accident. Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.
Source:
forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/state-rankings-confrontational-drivers/
