Road rage is far more common than most people believe. In fact, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that around 1/3 of all accidents are caused by aggressive driving behavior that could be categorized as road rage.

For whatever reason, bikers are often a primary target and thus one of the most frequent victims of road rage. This makes it essential that bikers understand their legal rights and the steps they should take after an accident caused by another driver’s road rage.

Signs of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving

Road rage can eventually manifest itself in a number of different ways, all of which are technically classified as aggressive driving. Nonetheless, the fact is that road rage is more than just driving aggressively. Rather, it is aggressive driving that is targeted at a specific individual due to some perceived harm that the aggressive motorist feels was done to them by the other party. Although road rage can include something as simple as honking the horn, flashing the headlights, or yelling at another person, the situation becomes far more serious and potentially dangerous when it causes the driver to undertake aggressive actions such as:

  • Cutting someone off or suddenly braking
  • Chasing after another motorist
  • Tailgating or following too closely
  • Attempting to prevent another driver from merging into another lane
  • Intentionally attempting to cause another driver to crash

All of these scenarios can be dangerous enough when they happen to a motorist. However, they carry far more risk of serious injuries or death when someone decides to take their road rage out on a biker. Motorcycles offer very little protection for the rider as compared to a passenger vehicle. With the help of an experienced personal injury attorney, a victim can seek compensation from the person whose road rage caused them to suffer a serious injury.

Bikers As Targets of Road Rage

Statistics continually show that bikers remain a favorite target for road rage. Unfortunately, there is not yet a sufficient explanation for why this is the case. It could be that the motorist simply harbors a grudge against all bikers for some previous run-in or accident that they feel was caused by a biker. Alternatively, the person might simply dislike bikers or hate sharing the road with them. Maybe they feel that the biker is slowing them down. Or maybe they’re just jealous about the other guy’s cool bike.

There could potentially be an endless number factors that can lead to road rage against bikers, but the fact is that none of it matters. There is no excuse for road rage. There is no acceptable reason or excuse to drive aggressively or otherwise threaten a biker.

If you become a victim of road rage and are lucky, it might result in nothing more than you being a bit shaken up. However, if the person’s aggressive actions caused an accident which resulted in seriously injuring you, it’s important that you seek the assistance of an attorney. You may be entitled to compensation for any injuries you suffered as well as damage caused to your bike. Therefore, it’s important that you don’t simply let yourself be a victim. With the help of a lawyer, like a motorcycle accident lawyer trusts, you can hopefully ensure that the other driver is held responsible for their unacceptable and aggressive behavior.