Road rage

These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimidate or release frustration.

Road rage can lead to altercations, damage to property, assaults, and collisions that result in serious physical injuries or even death.

[1] Behaviour has included (but are not limited to) cutting motorists off, inappropriate honking, flashing headlights, using obscene gestures, flipping off another driver, swerving, tailgating, brake checking, and physical confrontation.

According to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that examined police records nationally, there were more than 1,250 incidents of road rage on average reported per year between 1990–1996 in the United States.

In the U.S., only a few states have enacted special aggressive driving laws, where road rage cases are normally prosecuted as assault and battery (with or without a vehicle), or as vehicular homicide.

[citation needed] The legal definition of road rage encompasses a group of behaviors expressed while driving, or stemming from traffic-related incidents.

[8] Most reported cases of road rage occur because of cutting in and out of traffic, lane changes, disputes over parking spots or rude gestures.

However, it is not always possible to judge intent by observation, so "road ragers" who are stopped by police may be charged with other offenses such as careless or reckless driving, or may be fined or arrested.

[citation needed] Most common-law countries prohibit common assault, which could apply to road rage in which the personal safety of the victim is seen to be threatened.

Ramming a vehicle constitutes intentional or reckless damage to property, a criminal offense, with a maximum penalty of seven years of imprisonment (s 269 Crimes Act 1961).

Offenders found guilty of road rage may be liable to an imprisonment term of up to two years and / or a fine of up to $5,000 for causing damage.

In April 2007, a Colorado driver was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life terms for causing the deaths of two motorists in November 2005.

A 2007 study of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas concluded that the cities with the least courteous drivers (most road rage) are Miami, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles and Boston.