|
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the definition of aggressive driving is:
"When individuals commit a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property."
Police will need to know the following information when you are reporting an aggressive driver:
- Description of Vehicle (color, make, model, license plate state, and license plate number).
- Description of driver (sex, race, age, hair color, height, weight).
- Location of incident.
- Date and time of incident.
- What happened?
- Would you be willing to serve as a witness? If yes, you must give your name, address and phone number.
To Report an Aggressive Driving Incident that Occurred in the District of Columbia*:
You have two options for reporting an aggressive driver to law enforcement. You can report an aggressive driver by dialing 311 and your call should be directed to the appropriate department. 311 is designed to help citizens report non-emergencies such as situations that are not serious, not life-threatening or not currently in progress. To report the incident after the fact, you must be able to identify the operator of the vehicle and provide a tag number, car make and model and be willing to serve as a witness.
To Report an Aggressive Driving Incident that Occurred in Maryland*:
Maryland law defines aggressive driving as committing at the same time or during a continuous driving period, three or more of the following offenses:
- traffic signal violation
- improper passing
- failure to drive in a single or proper lane
- following too closely
- failure to stop/yield right of way
- exceeding the speed limit
You have two options for reporting an aggressive driver to law enforcement. You can report an aggressive driver when the action is occurring or you may file a report with the appropriate law enforcement agency after the fact. To report a driver when he/she is exhibiting the aggressive driving behavior dial #77 and your call should be directed to the appropriate jurisdiction. #77 is designed to help drivers report a driver in distress or exhibiting unsafe behavior. To report the incident after the fact, you must be able to identify the operator of the vehicle and provide a tag number, car make and model and be willing to serve as a witness.
To Report an Aggressive Driving Incident that Occurred in Pennsylvania*:
There are two methods for reporting an aggressive driver in Pennsylvania to law enforcement. You can report an aggressive driver when the action is occurring, or you can file a report with the appropriate law enforcement agency after the fact. To report a driver when he/she is exhibiting the aggressive driving behavior, dial 911 and your call should be directed to the appropriate jurisdiction. Contacting 911 should only occur if the incident is currently taking place. To report an aggressive driving incident, you must be able to identify the operator of the vehicle and provide a tag number, car make and model and be willing to serve as a witness. If you need to contact the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), you may access the website http://www.psp.state.pa.us. This website contains all of the PSP station addresses and telephone numbers, as well as the respective counties that they patrol.
To Report an Aggressive Driving Incident that Occurred in Virginia*:
Virginia law defines aggressive driving as a hazard to others with the intent to harass, intimidate, injure or obstruct another person and commits at least one of the following:
- failure to drive on the right side of the highway
- failure to drive in the lanes marked for traffic
- following too closely
- failure to yield right of way
- failure to follow traffic control device
- passing on right
- exceeding the speed limit
- stopping on a highway
You have two options for reporting an aggressive driver to law enforcement. You can report an aggressive driver when the action is occurring or file a report with the appropriate law enforcement agency after the fact. To report a driver when he/she is exhibiting the aggressive driving behavior dial #77 and your call should be directed to the appropriate jurisdiction. #77 is designed to help drivers report a driver in distress or exhibiting unsafe behavior. To report the incident after the fact, you must be able to identify the operator of the vehicle and provide a tag number, car make and model and be willing to serve as a witness.
To file a report of an incident that occurred in Fairfax County go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ps/police/traf_sfty_report.htm.
To Report Aggressive Driving by Trucks and Buses*:
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has a Safety Violation Hotline where you can report unsafe driving by trucks and buses. You have two options to report aggressive driving to FMCSA. You can either call the Safety Violation Hotline at 1-888-dot-saft (1-888-368-7238) between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday-Friday Eastern Time or you can fill out the safety violation reporting form found on the following website, http://www.1-888-dot-saft.com/SVH_Main.asp.
IMPORTANT
When encountering an aggressive driver, stay calm, keep your distance from that driver, do not return gestures and remember not to take it personally.
Thank you for your interest in taking action to keep yourself and others, including the "aggressive" driver, safe on our roads.
*NOTE: Each law enforcement agency has specific requirements and procedures for reporting traffic safety violations. It is up to each agency to respond to filed reports.
|
