Though it gets less media attention than distracted driving and drunk driving, road rage remains a problem on Augusta’s highways and surface streets. Serious car accidents caused by a driver caught in a road rage might happen less often than ones triggered by a motorist impaired by alcohol or distracted by their phone. But road rage can cause just as much harm to innocent victims.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, road rage is “the operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property.” Things like emotional instability or another driver’s perceived rudeness can trigger a motorist to fly into a rage. They might shout and make obscene or threatening gestures at their target. A driver in the grip of road rage will often follow that up with speeding, tailgating and attempts to cut off the other person. They might even crash into their victim on purpose or fire a gun at them to “teach them a lesson.”
Road rage on a Georgia highway
It appears that road rage was behind a recent car wreck in the Atlanta area that left one of the drivers lying on the highway. Details are scarce, but according to a news report, witnesses saw an SUV crash into a car with enough force to eject the driver from the latter vehicle. What caused the collision is unclear, but the fact that witnesses described the incident as road rage suggests that the SUV driver rammed the car, or at least drove so aggressively that they disregarded the car driver’s safety.
Road rage can kill its victims or leave them with devastating disabilities. Fortunately, victims and their families do not have to bear the financial burden that a negligent Augusta driver has caused. They can pursue maximum compensation in court if necessary.