Many Ohio motorists have had the experience of looking in their rear-view mirror and noticing that there is a vehicle following behind them much too closely. Following too closely, passing in an area where passing is prohibited and making erratic lane changes are just a few examples of what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration refers to as aggressive driving.
According to NHTSA data, these types of behaviors contributed to 56 percent of the fatal accidents that occurred between 2003 and 2007. The NHTSA defines aggressive driving as moving traffic offenses that endanger other people or their property. Some of the most common and dangerous types of aggressive driving behaviors are speeding, failure to yield right of way, failure to obey traffic control devices and failure to signal.
Certain types of aggressive and reckless driving behaviors are more likely to cause fatal crashes than others. Fatal car accident data from 2014 showed that 18.8 percent of drivers and motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes were driving over the posted speed limit or driving too fast for the current road conditions. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol was a behavior observed in 12.3 percent of drivers and motorcyclists that were involved in fatal crashes in that year.
For the most part, the behaviors listed by the NHTSA as constituting aggressive driving are also forms of negligence. A person who has been injured in a car wreck caused by such a motorist may want to have the assistance of a personal injury attorney when attempting to recover damages for out-of-pocket medical expenses and other losses.