As many as 56 percent of deadly vehicle crashes involve one or more unsafe driving behaviors typically associated with aggressive driving, according to a new analysis released Tuesday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Speeding contributes to nearly one in three deadly crashes.
AAA analyzed data from 2003 through 2007 from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
“Aggressive driving and its consequences are all too common on our roadways. It’s easy to think ‘that other guy is the problem’” said Catherine L. Rossi, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “But anyone can become an aggressive driver just by one single action.”
Examples of aggressive driving include tailgating, running stop signs or red lights, preventing other drivers from passing, speeding, illegal driving on the shoulder, and failing to yield.
Do As I Say, Not as I Do?
Additionally, the 2008 AAA Foundation Traffic Safety Culture Index found nearly eight out of every 10 people surveyed rated aggressive drivers as a serious or extremely serious traffic safety problem. However, in the same survey, many individuals reported driving in ways that could be deemed aggressive:
• Nearly half of drivers reported exceeding the speed limit by 15 mph on major highways
• 15 percent admitted exceeding the speed limit by 15 mph on neighborhood streets
• 58 percent said they speed up to beat a yellow light
• 41 percent honk at other drivers
• 26 percent say they have pressured other drivers to speed up
• 22 percent have tailgated
• 6 percent have deliberately run red lights
• 3 out of every 4 drivers said they are more careful than other drivers
• Almost 60 percent indicated that they were substantially in control of whether or not they would be involved in a crash
Aggressive Driving in Delaware
During the period from 2003 to 2007, there were 625 fatal crashes in Delaware of which 373 - 60 percent - were attributed to aggressive driving. source: Delaware Office of Highway Safety
The Delaware General Assembly passed the state's first aggressive driving law in 1999. In simplest terms, if a driver commits three specified traffic offenses (including speeding, failing to yield the right of way, making an unsafe lane change, passing on the shoulder, ignoring a traffic control device, following too closely, or overtaking a stopped school bus) in a single incident, that person will be charged with an aggressive driving violation.
They may be fined between $100 and $300 dollars, or face 10 to 30 days in jail. They must also complete a behavior modification class or attitudinal driving course. If convicted of a second or subsequent aggressive driving offense within three years, they may find their license suspended for 30 days.
