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Florida Defines Road Rage And Aggressive Driving

By Eddie Farah

Aggressive driving is responsible for 2/3rds of all fatalities on the road each year, or 27,000 deaths. That number is four times the number of deaths resulting from DUI or drunk under the influence.

"Aggressive driving" is driving under the influence of “impaired emotions” which then leads to high-risk decisions. It is a choice and can be modified with attitude and behavior modification.

Not to be confused with “Road Rage,” as it’s known, aggressive driving can precede Road Rage when others react on the roads from aggressive and careless drivers.

In order to crack down on teens who take out their aggression, the state is defining “aggressive driving” (Florida Statute 316.1923) as committing two or more of the following acts simultaneously or in succession

• 1) Exceeding the posted speed limit by 15 mph or more
• 2) Unsafely or improperly changing lanes
• 3) Following another vehicle too closely
• 4) Failing to yield the right-of-way
• 5) Improperly passing
• 6) Violating traffic control and signal devices

Unfortunately this statute is not a charging statute. The office can mark the ticket that the driver was an aggressive driver. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in Tallahassee then takes this data to provide statistical information on aggressive driving in the state which is used to make new laws.

Road Rage is a felony and a criminal assault using an automobile on another driver/passenger of an automobile.

There are at least 200 deaths a year in Florida attributable to road rage. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on October 09, 2008 (boomark / email).