Aggressive Driving Accident Lawyer

Aggressive driving has become an increasingly dangerous problem on Austin’s busy highways and surface streets, contributing to numerous serious accidents and fatalities each year. Unlike simple traffic violations or momentary lapses in judgment, aggressive driving involves a pattern of dangerous behaviors that demonstrate a willful disregard for the safety of other motorists. When aggressive drivers cause accidents, their reckless conduct often results in severe injuries and may support claims for punitive damages in addition to compensatory relief.

At Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, we have successfully represented victims of aggressive driving accidents for over 65 years. Our experienced Austin aggressive driving accident attorneys understand how to build compelling cases against aggressive drivers and pursue maximum compensation for the serious injuries these crashes often cause.

What Constitutes Aggressive Driving

Texas law defines aggressive driving as operating a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property. This broad definition encompasses various dangerous behaviors that go beyond ordinary negligence to demonstrate a conscious disregard for safety. Aggressive driving typically involves a combination of traffic violations committed in sequence, creating cumulative dangers for other road users.

Speed-related aggressive driving includes excessive speeding, racing other vehicles, or driving too fast for road conditions. These behaviors become particularly dangerous on Austin’s congested highways where traffic patterns can change rapidly. Aggressive drivers often weave between lanes at high speeds, creating multiple collision risks and forcing other drivers to brake suddenly or swerve to avoid accidents.

Common Aggressive Driving Behaviors

Tailgating represents one of the most common forms of aggressive driving, involving following other vehicles too closely to intimidate or pressure them to move faster or change lanes. This behavior eliminates the following driver’s ability to stop safely if traffic conditions change suddenly, often resulting in serious rear-end collisions.

Road rage incidents involve angry or hostile behaviors directed at other drivers, including obscene gestures, verbal threats, intentional blocking of lanes, or deliberate attempts to force other vehicles off the road. These situations can escalate quickly and result in intentional collisions or multi-vehicle accidents as drivers attempt to flee dangerous confrontations.

Running red lights and stop signs demonstrates a particularly egregious form of aggressive driving that often causes devastating intersection accidents. Drivers who knowingly enter intersections against traffic signals or ignore stop signs show complete disregard for traffic laws and the safety of pedestrians and cross traffic.

Proving Aggressive Driving in Personal Injury Cases

Establishing that aggressive driving caused your accident requires demonstrating that the defendant engaged in a pattern of dangerous behaviors rather than a single momentary lapse in judgment. This often involves gathering evidence from multiple sources including traffic cameras, witness testimony, and police reports that document the driver’s conduct leading up to the crash.

Eyewitness accounts play a crucial role in aggressive driving cases because they can describe the defendant’s behavior over time and distance. Witnesses may have observed the aggressive driver weaving through traffic, tailgating multiple vehicles, or engaging in other dangerous behaviors before the accident occurred.

Traffic Citations and Criminal Charges

Traffic citations issued to the aggressive driver provide valuable evidence of their dangerous conduct. Multiple citations for speeding, reckless driving, or other violations help establish a pattern of aggressive behavior. Criminal charges such as reckless driving or vehicular assault demonstrate that law enforcement recognized the severity of the defendant’s conduct.

Dashboard cameras and traffic surveillance footage can provide compelling visual evidence of aggressive driving behaviors. This technology captures real-time footage of dangerous driving patterns and helps establish the sequence of events leading to your accident.

Types of Injuries in Aggressive Driving Accidents

Aggressive driving accidents often result in high-impact collisions that cause severe injuries due to the excessive speeds and reckless maneuvers involved. Head-on collisions occur when aggressive drivers attempt dangerous passing maneuvers or lose control while speeding. These crashes typically result in traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple fractures, and internal organ injuries.

Rollover accidents frequently occur when aggressive drivers lose control at high speeds or attempt sudden evasive maneuvers. The violent nature of rollover crashes often causes ejections, crushing injuries, and multiple trauma requiring extensive medical treatment and long-term rehabilitation.

Intersection Collision Injuries

T-bone accidents at intersections caused by aggressive drivers running red lights or stop signs often result in severe side-impact injuries. These collisions can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and multiple fractures, particularly when high speeds are involved. The lack of substantial protection on vehicle sides makes occupants particularly vulnerable in these crashes.

Multi-vehicle accidents caused by aggressive drivers create complex injury patterns as multiple collisions occur in sequence. Victims may suffer injuries from the initial impact as well as secondary collisions as their vehicles strike other cars, barriers, or roadside objects.

Punitive Damages in Aggressive Driving Cases

Aggressive driving often meets the legal standard for punitive damages under Texas law because it demonstrates gross negligence or conscious indifference to the rights and safety of others. Unlike compensatory damages that reimburse victims for actual losses, punitive damages punish defendants for particularly egregious conduct and deter similar behavior in the future.

Establishing entitlement to punitive damages requires proving by clear and convincing evidence that the aggressive driver acted with extreme disregard for safety. The defendant’s knowledge of risks, their training and experience, and the availability of safer alternatives all factor into this determination.

Maximizing Your Recovery

Aggressive driving cases often involve higher damage awards due to the severity of injuries and the availability of punitive damages. These cases require thorough investigation to document the full extent of the defendant’s dangerous conduct and demonstrate how their aggressive driving directly caused your injuries.

Expert accident reconstruction becomes particularly important in aggressive driving cases to analyze speed, impact forces, and the sequence of events leading to the crash. Medical experts help establish the severity of injuries and their long-term consequences, supporting claims for substantial compensation.

Contact Our Proven Austin Aggressive Driving Accident Lawyers

Aggressive driving accidents require immediate legal action to preserve evidence and protect your rights against drivers who showed complete disregard for your safety. These car accident cases often involve substantial damages and may support punitive damage claims, making it essential to work with attorneys who have experience handling complex personal injury litigation.

Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson has been Austin’s premier personal injury law firm since 1959, earning recognition from U.S. News & World Report as one of the Best Law Firms in the U.S. Our Board Certified Personal Injury attorneys have successfully handled aggressive driving cases resulting in over $100 million recovered for clients with a 98% success rate. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we win your case. To discuss your aggressive driving accident case, call us at (512) 982-0782 or submit our contact form.