Road Rage Information that could save your life

Definition of Road Rage

The term Road Rage was coined by local news station KTLA in Los Angeles after a string of shootings occurred on several freeways in the city.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines road rage as when a driver

"commits moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property; an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of one motor vehicle on the operator or passengers of another motor vehicle".

The NHTSA makes a clear distinction between road rage and aggressive driving, where the former is a criminal charge and the latter a traffic offense. This definition places the blame on the driver.

Interesting Road Rage Statistics

The following statistics compiled from the NHTSA and the Auto Vantage auto club show that aggressive driving and road rage are causing serious problems on our roads.

• 66% of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving.

• 37% of aggressive driving incidents involve a firearm.

• Males under the age of 19 are the most likely to exhibit road rage.

• Half of drivers who are on the receiving end of an aggressive behavior, such as horn honking, a rude gesture, or tailgating admit to responding with aggressive behavior themselves.

• Over a seven year period, 218 murders and 12,610 injuries were attributed to road rage.

• One scary statistic worth noting is: 2% of drivers admit to trying to run an aggressor off the road!

How to Handle Road Rage

If you find that you have agitated another driver, whether the fault is truly yours or not, do not react or retaliate to the other driver on the road. This will only cause the situation to escalate. Remind yourself that the other driver is just bad at handling stress, avoid eye contact and continue to practice safe driving habits.

Unfortunately, it does not look like this problem is going away any time soon. All you can do is be a considerate, aware driver that follows the rules of the road. While it may be difficult in the heat of the moment, do not give in to feelings of anger or rage on the road.

Think twice before you honk the horn or flip that finger, because you never know what may set off the person in the cars around you. Getting home safely is more important than teaching someone a dangerous lesson.

5 most common cars involved in road rage

BMW 34%

Land Rover 32%

AUDI 29%

Subaru 22%

Vauxhall 18%

Most common car colors involved in road rage

Black 33%

Blue 47%

Silver 25%

Green 19%

Red 15%

September is the worst month for Road rage

Time of day 5:45 PM

Big mistakes were made here...

Las Vegas road rage case: Victim went back to find suspect, police say

The woman killed in an apparent road rage incident last week returned home to pick up her son and then went back out to find the man now suspected of shooting her, a Las Vegas homicide detective said Tuesday.

Tammy Meyers, a 44-year-old mother of four, had been giving her 15-year-old daughter a driving lesson Thursday when she had an encounter with another driver that left her scared and upset, Lt. Ray Steiber told reporters.

When she got home, Meyers told her daughter to go into the house, wake up the girl's brother and have him get in the car. Meyers' son Brandon, 22, brought a registered firearm with him.

Meyers drove back out of the neighborhood to see if she could find the man, Steiber said.

"The vehicles and persons found each other," he said.

"Through the course of them finding each other, at one point Mrs. Meyers was following what we consider a suspect vehicle and then at another point they broke apart and Mrs. Meyers went home."

Shortly after Meyers arrived at her house a second time and got out of her car, a gray or silver sedan pulled into the cul-de-sac and a volley of shots was fired.

The son returned fire, Steiber said.

Meyers was struck in the head by one bullet and was rushed to the hospital, where she died on Valentine's Day after being taken off life support.

Steiber said the family called 911 after Meyers was shot.

The driver, described as a man in his 20s to 30, is about 6 feet tall with medium build. He wore a white V-neck T-shirt.

Steiber said authorities believe a bullet from the suspect's gun killed Meyers, and not one from the son's firearm.

The initial incident came after the suspect was speeding past Meyers as she drove her daughter home from a driving lesson. Seeing the speeding car, the daughter reached over and honked the horn.

Steiber said the man pulled in front, stopped his car and came back to the Meyers car. His words scared mother and daughter. They did not say anything to the suspect, Steiber said.

The shooter was sentenced to life.