Aggressive Driving: State of the Road

Recently, there has been growing concern among ordinary drivers that Aggressive Driving is increasing on our roads. Aggressive drivers are more likely to:

• be involved in crashes;
• be young men;
• have high frustration levels and a low regard for others;
• be competitive in nature; and
• tend to speed, drive impaired by alcohol and/or drugs and engage in other unsafe practices such as unlicensed driving and driving without a seatbelt.

What is Aggressive Driving?

While not everyone agrees about how Aggressive Driving should be defined, it is normally taken to include such behaviours as:

Minor Aggressive Driving:

• Shouting abuse
• Making obscene gestures
• Flicking lights on and off to get other drivers to move out of the way
• Deliberately braking or slowing suddenly to irritate others
• Giving a prolonged blast of the horn deliberately
• Driving too close behind another vehicle Severe:
• Pursuing another vehicle
• Swerving in front of another vehicle
• Trying to run another vehicle off the road
• Attempting to stop another vehicle
• Deliberately bumping another vehicle
• Getting out and approaching another road user
• Damaging or attempting to damage a vehicle
• Assaulting or attempting to assault another road user (ie. pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers).