Available 24/7
Free Consultation
Every motorist has witnessed an aggressive driver speeding and weaving through traffic and creating a hazard to other drivers on the road, but what happens when you become the victim of an aggressive driver who causes an accident through their reckless actions behind the wheel?
According to data from the National Safety Council, about 45.5% of fatal car accidents involve one or more aggressive driving behaviors, with speeding as the most predominant factor.
In fault-based insurance states like Connecticut, proving another driver’s aggressive driving caused your accident is a critical component of a car accident claim for damages, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. The steps you take after an aggressive driving accident are important to the success of your case.
Many circumstances trigger aggressive driving, including driver impatience, lateness, frustration, long commute times, emotional disorders, and learned behaviors. Studies suggest that the feeling of anonymity drivers experience on the road contributes to their willingness to engage in aggressive driving actions. Aggressive driving indicators include:
Most states do not have general laws against aggressive driving. Instead, a series of specific traffic laws targets different aggressive driving behaviors such as laws against speeding, tailgating, and unsafe lane changing.
After an accident, it’s critical to call 911 to request emergency services and give reasonable first aid and comfort to injury victims if you’re able to move safely without causing further injury. Motorists could face additional concerns in an accident involving an aggressive driver if that driver is angry, threatening, or acting erratically after the accident.
By using a cell phone—or asking an uninjured person to use it for you, you can take steps to protect yourself after calling 911. First, take photos of the accident scene and the damaged vehicles before law enforcement moves them to restore traffic flow. Take photos of any visible injuries. Then, add the contact information and insurance details of the aggressive driver (when possible without endangering yourself) and the contact information of any eyewitnesses. Eyewitnesses can be the key to proving an aggressive driver caused an accident, especially in places lacking traffic cameras.
Accident victims should always go directly to a hospital after an accident and undergo a complete evaluation with a detailed medical report.
It’s always best to hire an experienced car accident attorney after an accident, particularly when hit by an aggressive driver. In these cases, insurance companies commonly reach out quickly with settlement offers that are far less than the true value of the claim—often before an injury victim could know the full scope of their economic and non-economic damages.
It might seem that liability is clear in a collision caused by an aggressive driver, but insurance companies in comparison negligence insurance states often assign injury victims an undue portion of fault for an accident to lower the amount they have to pay out on a claim. The attorneys at Weber & Rubano, LLC, have 75 years of combined legal experience to put a strong, discerning voice behind your claim. Call our Connecticut car accident law firm today so we can begin strategizing the best way forward for securing the compensation you deserve.