How great of a risk to aggressive drivers pose?

When it comes to dangerous forms of driving, you, like most, may typically classify them by the 3 D’s: drunk, distracted, or drowsy. Yet what about aggressive driving? You may give little thought to this term because it seems so subjective. Yet aggressive driving is very real and, if numbers are to be believed, can present a significant risk to you while on the road.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration classifies “aggressive driving” as driving “in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property.” Their data also shows that as many as 13,000 people have died in accidents caused by aggressive drivers since 1990.

While drunk, drowsy, or distracted drivers may appear to present the most danger to you while behind the wheel, the greatest risk could be posed by those who choose to drive aggressively. That could be due to the perception that many have that there’s nothing wrong the patterns and behavior associated with aggressive driving. The most common sign of aggressive driving is speeding. Yet while most would agree that driving distracted, or drunk, or on little sleep is dangerous, many don’t find speeding to be that big of a deal. In fact, data shared by the NHTSA confirms that. Their studies show only 14 percent of their survey respondents believed it to be dangerous to drive more than 10 mph over the speed limit.

If you’ve been in an accident, there are some signs that may indicate aggression on the part of another driver. The most obvious would be him or her leaving the scene. More subtle ones may include agitation, nervousness, or acting defensive. This may due to him or her being aware of his or her reckless driving, yet also hoping that others didn’t notice.