Lawyer For Accident Due To Motorcycle Road Rage
The road can be unkind, with many confusing and dangerous actions taken by other drivers. However, when frustration turns to aggressive driving or road rage, it can jeopardize the safety of others on the road.
The effects of road rage are even more significant, potentially debilitating, and even deadly when they involve a collision with a motorcycle. Due to their larger size and weight, cars or larger vehicles can cause significant injuries when they hit a motorcyclist.
If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident as a result of someone else’s road rage, you need to know your legal rights and options.
What Is Road Rage?
Road rage is an extreme and highly dangerous type of aggressive driving. As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explains:
“Aggressive driving occasionally escalates to gesturing in anger or yelling at another motorist, confrontation, physical assault, and even murder; “Road Rage” is the label that emerged to describe the angry and violent behaviors at the extreme of the aggressive driving continuum.”
On the other hand, NHTSA defines aggressive driving as “The operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property.” An important distinction is that aggressive driving is a traffic violation, while road rage can be a criminal offense.
Common Causes of Road Rage Against a Motorcyclist
There are various reasons why someone may engage in road rage. For example:
- Being impatient or late
- Experiencing personal issues, high stress, or displaced anger
- Hostile, aggressive thinking
- Increased risk-taking on the road
- Heavy traffic
- Observing another driver who is distracted or fails to obey traffic rules
Lots of unsafe scenarios can occur when a driver exhibits signs of road rage towards a motorcycle rider. For example, an aggressive driver can tailgate, making it unsafe for the motorcyclist to stop or slow down in time, ultimately colliding with the rider. Or, road rage may lead a driver to fail to yield, veer into another lane, or otherwise fail to follow traffic rules, causing an accident in the process.
Common Accidents Involving Road Rage
Road rage commonly carries with it some frightening behavior, including yelling or screaming, tailgating, honking, following unsafely, purposefully cutting off other cars, or blocking traffic. It can also include unsafe behavior such as speeding, weaving, ramming, or even initiating a fight or confrontation. If you do find yourself in a potential situation with someone exhibiting road rage, it is important not to engage with them, stay calm, and keep a safe distance—and, if you continue to feel unsafe, call the authorities.
Road rage can lead to numerous types of motorcycle accidents, including:
- Rear-end collisions
- Dangerous turn accidents
- Failure to yield or merging accidents
- Reckless driving accidents
- Distracted driving accidents
- Unlawful passing accidents
Any of those accidents can result in serious personal injuries, including head injuries or brain trauma, back or spinal injuries, burns, broken or fractured bones, internal injuries, and soft tissue injuries, among many others. Moreover, the accident may cause damage to your motorcycle or even result in a total loss, requiring replacement.
You may also incur lost wages as a result of being unable to work after your accident. You may also incur general damages, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish and psychological trauma, the loss of enjoyment of activities that you can no longer do, and an overall decline in your quality of life.
Liability in Motorcycle Road Rage Accidents
You may be able to receive compensation for the financial losses you have incurred after a motorcycle accident. If you’ve been injured while riding your motorcycle as a result of another driver’s road rage, you need to understand your legal rights, your options, and the potential next steps to take in your case.
Generally, proving liability in a motorcycle accident that resulted from road rage will entail proving the elements of a negligence claim: that the other party breached their duty of reasonable care to you when they engaged in unsafe, reckless, or negligent actions. You will also need to prove that the other party’s actions and road rage incident were the direct cause of your injuries.
Proving liability for an accident, particularly one that involved road rage, may seem like a no-brainer: after all, if the party engaging in road rage causes an accident, they should be held responsible for the resulting injuries, right?
However, things are not always so clear-cut when it comes to issues of liability and damages. Your case may involve various laws, have complicated facts, and may even be brought against several different parties, all of which can make for a complex process in recovering compensation for your financial losses. For that reason, you should consult about your case with an experienced and knowledgeable attorney who can discuss your options, your legal rights, and your potential claims.
Why Turn to Bretz Injury Law If You’ve Been Injured as a Result of Road Rage or Aggressive Driving?
At Bretz Injury Law, we fight to help motorcycle accident victims recover fair compensation for all of their physical, emotional, and financial losses. Our Kansas motorcycle road rage accident lawyers know how to build powerful claims and aggressively negotiate with insurance companies for fair settlements, but when this is not possible, we are fully prepared to represent our clients at trial.
If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident as a result of someone else’s road rage or aggressive driving, you shouldn’t have to deal with the aftermath on your own. When you trust your case to Bretz Injury Law, you get more than a single lawyer on your side; you get an entire team of seasoned legal professionals all working together to secure the best possible outcome on your behalf.
Our Kansas personal injury lawyers can help you understand your rights and fight for the fair compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
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