Every time you navigate Kentucky roadways, you can expect to share the road with other travelers. While you might be lucky enough to enjoy a road trip or two with little to no traffic jams, it’s far more common to encounter other vehicles on the road than to have the highway to yourself. While your own driving skills and habits might be stellar, there’s no telling how nearby motorists will act.
Any number of issues can place you in harm’s way while driving. One of the problems drivers may encounter on Kentucky highways today is road rage. If a driver is in a rage, he or she isn’t likely going to adhere to traffic laws and safety regulations. In fact, he or she might intentionally disobey them in order to use his or her vehicle in an aggressive manner against you. If that happens, you’re at great risk for collision and injury.
What causes road rage?
Perhaps, you had a bad day and drove out of your driveway a bit too fast. You wouldn’t be the first driver to make such a mistake. If this happened, it was hopefully an isolated incident, as caution is a critical factor toward driver safety. The following list includes issues that often spark road rage:
- Speeding often occurs when a driver is late for an important meeting or even a social event. If a nearby driver thinks your driving speed is delaying his or her arrival at a particular destination, he or she may become aggressive toward you.
- No one likes traffic jams. Some drivers, however, become enraged when they feel stuck on the road or lack control of their traveling situation.
- There are also many motorists who simply don’t care what the traffic laws happen to be. They feel that they’re above the law and can do what they want when they’re driving, even if it places other people at risk for injury.
If a driver near you is honking a horn, making crude gestures or yelling profanity out his or her window, it’s a definite sign of road rage. The farther away you can get from his or her vehicle, the better.
What if you can’t escape?
In high traffic situations on a Kentucky highway, you might not be able to react swiftly and safely enough to avoid collision if an enraged driver is being reckless on the roadway. Reckless driving collisions often result in serious, if not fatal injuries.
During recovery, you might run into financial problems due to medical bills and other expenses associated with your injuries. State law allows those who suffer injury due to another driver’s negligent or reckless behavior to seek financial recovery for their losses in court.