Aggressive Driving — Is It A Problem?

Has anyone ever cut you off, flashed their lights at you, honked their horn, followed too closely, or gestured obscenely?

If yes, you may be the victim of an aggressive driver.

Have you ever felt stress while driving in commuter traffic, tried to get even with other drivers, gotten angry by the actions of other drivers or gestured obscenely at other drivers for any reason?

If yes, you may be an aggressive driver.

Aggressive driving is defined as operating a motor vehicle in a selfish, bold or pushy manner without regard for the rights or safety of other users of the streets and highways.

Admit it, there's a problem out there and it's getting worse. We all need to be more courteous on the highways.

According to a recent article in the Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City, Utah) on Sept. 6, 2004, 40 percent of motorists feel driving has become more aggravating than two years ago and the prime source of that aggravation is the behavior of other drivers.

The poll was conducted for Drive for Life, a driver safety awareness initiative of AAA, Volvo Cars of North America, Partners for Highway Safety, the National Association of Organizations, and the National Sheriffs' Association.

Other survey highlights include:

• One in four men admitted to driving while angry, compared to one in five women.
• 18 percent said aggressive drivers pose the biggest threat on the road, second only to drunk drivers.
• 37 percent of teenage drivers, 16-20, admit to driving while emotionally upset—more than twice the rate for non-teens.
• Early twenty-somethings are the most likely to describe themselves as fast and aggressive drivers and least likely to wear a seat belt, or require a passenger to wear one.
• Men are twice as likely as women to admit to driving without using a seat belt and much more likely to drive after drinking.
• Parents also admit to distracted driving, with 54 percent talking on a cell phone, 48 percent changing CDs or DVDs and 51 percent taking their eyes off the road to deal with children—all with children in the car.

The poll of 1,100 licensed drivers by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. was conduced July 29 to Aug. 5, 2004 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. See the entire results at www.driveforlife.com.

Nationwide, 42,643 people died on the highways in 2003. Most involved drivers who were going too fast, were too tired or who had been drinking. In Utah, although the number of fatalities dropped from 329 in 2002 to 309 in 2003, public safety officials want the number to be zero.

In fact, Utah public safety and emergency personnel are eliminating entirely the term "accident." In the opinion of experts, there really is no such thing as an accident. From now on, a "crash" will be called a crash.

According to Nile Easton, Utah Department of Transportation information officer, "Crashes are the predictable result of someone's actions."

Fatal Crashes in Utah
309 total fatalities from 262 crashes in 2003 (329 crashes in 2002)

For more information on the problems of aggressive driving, search the Internet for dozens of useful sites offering statistical details on this growing problem plus what many states and drivers are doing to combat the problem.

The Solution

There's really only one real solution to the growing problem of aggressive driving—BE COURTEOUS ON THE HIGWAYS.

After all, there are better uses for our fingers and a lot more to life than the aggravation and possible property and bodily damage caused by aggressive driving.