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Road Rage is Never the Answer

By Emily Mapp Brannon

A bizarre and truly disturbing incident occurred on Interstate 95 (I-95) close to Woodbridge, Virginia (VA) when a man driving a Jaguar allegedly pulled alongside a dump truck and whipped out a gun trying to shoot the driver. The dump truck driver decided to hit the Jaguar and force the car into the guardrail, according to nbcwashington.com.

Police were called to the scene and both drivers have been charged – the dump truck driver with attempted second degree murder and the Jaguar driver with attempted murder, using a firearm, and child endangerment. Yes, you read that last charge correctly – the Jaguar driver engaged in this reckless action with their two-year-old daughter in the backseat of the car.

This incident appears to be a clear example of road rage taken to the extreme. Road rage is defined as 'any display of aggression by a driver and refers extreme acts of aggression, such as a physical assault, that occur as a direct result of a disagreement between drivers,' according to the AAA Foundation.

Sadly, road rage is becoming a very common occurrence. A report commissioned by AAA revealed over 10,000 car crashes have been caused by some form of road rage between January 1, 1990 and August 31, 1996. At least 218 people were killed in car crashes as result of road rage and nearly 13,000 drivers suffered injuries, according to statisticalforecasting.com.

This may sound like common sense, but it bears repeating – remain calm while driving your car. If someone cuts you off, stops abruptly, or performs some other irresponsible driving maneuver, don't react angrily. Trying to get even is not worth the potential ramifications. It's wiser to just count to 10 and move on with your life than trying to 'one-up' the other driver and wind up potentially getting into a car wreck and/or suffering a serious injury like a broken neck, shattered pelvis, severed limb, or traumatic brain injury.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers.

PA

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Emily Mapp Brannon

Full post as published by Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer on April 05, 2010 (boomark / email).