Aggressive driving involves much more than just making an honest mistake on the road. It happens when someone drives in a way that shows a conscious disregard for safety, such as intentionally speeding or weaving between lanes.
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Aggressive drivers create danger and push the boundaries of reasonable driving, raising the odds of both minor and major crashes. Common examples of aggressive driving behaviors include:
- Excessive speeding, especially in heavy traffic
- Tailgating or driving dangerously close to another vehicle
- Sudden, unsafe lane changes without signaling
- Running red lights or ignoring stop signs
- Forcing other vehicles off the road, blocking their movements, or brake-checking
- Yelling or making threats
- Honking aggressively
These behaviors go beyond negligence or just a simple mistake.
How Can You Prove Aggressive Driving?
Proving that a crash was caused by aggressive driving usually takes more than just your own account. You’ll need to provide multiple different types of evidence to make sure the insurance company or court believes that your side of the story is true. Common evidence includes:
Traffic and Surveillance Cameras
Highways and intersections are often monitored by traffic cameras, which can show the behaviors of a car soon before an accident occurs. If it shows lane weaving, running red lights, or following other cars far too closely, this could be used as evidence. Many businesses have exterior cameras capturing nearby driving events as well.
Dashcam Footage
Many cars and public transportation vehicles like buses have dashboard cameras, running at all times. This can show erratic speeds, sharp lane changes, or even acts of road rage, pointing toward liability in an aggressive driving crash.
Eyewitness Accounts
Anyone who saw the accident can give their side of the story and share what they saw leading up to or during the accident. If they corroborate your version of events and agree that the other driver was behaving aggressively, this can help your case.
Officer Observations and Crash Reports
Law enforcement on the scene look for signs that someone was behaving aggressively or violated the law. This can come from statements from the driver, statements from witnesses, or how the vehicles are positioned. They may even cite someone for aggressive driving. If this happens, this is an important piece of evidence for your case.
The right evidence helps to demonstrate that someone else was responsible for the crash, and should therefore be liable for your damages.
Compensation Available After an Aggressive Driving Accident
When you’re hurt by an aggressive driver, the law allows you to seek financial support for a variety of losses. The damages available can address both the obvious and hidden impacts of what happened, and often include:
- Medical bills for emergency care, surgery, medication, hospital stays, and follow-up treatment
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation for lasting injuries or disability
- Lost wages during your recovery, and future loss of earning potential if you can’t return to the same job
- Repairs or replacement for your vehicle and costs related to transportation
- Pain and suffering for physical discomfort and emotional distress
- Damages for the impact the crash has on your mental health, such as anxiety, depression, or loss of enjoyment in daily activities
Recovering compensation after an aggressive driving accident with the help of a St. Louis injury attorney gives you a chance to focus on healing without worrying about immediate financial consequences of the situation.
If you have any questions or want to get started with your case, don’t hesitate to contact our firm today at (314) 300-6260 to schedule a free consultation.