One person’s bad driving habits are often another’s justification for endangering the lives of everybody else on the road.

Have you witnessed drivers doing any of the following?

• Driving faster than the speed limit
• Ignoring traffic lights, stop signs or yield signs
• Tailgating or following too closely behind another vehicle
• Passing on the shoulder or the break-down lane
• Changing lanes without a turn signal
• Flashing headlights at another motorist
• Making rude or obscene gestures
• Changing lanes erratically
• Yelling at another driver
• Deliberately blocking another vehicle
• Physically assaulting another driver

Have you been responsible for any of those acts yourself?

When you consider the statistics, it’s no surprise how many incidents there are on Colorado roads. A recent survey found 50% of drivers confronted with aggressive driving respond with road rage. Here’s the breakdown of how the surveyed drivers actually admitted to behaving:

• 34% honk their car horn at an aggressive driver
• 27% yell at the driver
• 19% make an obscene gesture
• 17% flash their car headlights
• 7% make the same aggressive driving maneuver
• 2% attempt to run the aggressive driver off the road.

These kinds of driving habits can be precursors some major road rage. Scary, isn’t it?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), aggressive driving occurs “when individuals commit a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property.” Aggressive driving can be attributed to drivers’ carelessness or inattention.

Road rage, though, can turn into a criminal offense. It’s considered by the NHTSA as “an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger(s) of one motor vehicle on the operator or passenger(s) of another motor vehicle or is caused by an incident that occurred on a roadway.”

Coloradans have seen the criminal result of road rage as recently as April of this year. Colorado Springs cyclists and a driver in Pueblo made headlines after becoming road rage victims in the same month. » Read more: Road Rage Endangers Everyone on the Road

Consider the following situation. You go out after work with a few friends and have a couple of drinks. You think you are ok to drive home. The cop that pulls you over for swerving thought otherwise. Before you know it you are sitting in a jail cell. You get bailed out and are now facing a serious DUI charge. Right now you have a choice and that is to hire a DUI lawyer or accept the court appointed one. You would be a lot better off in the long run to hire your own. There are a few reasons why.

The one thing you are in danger of losing is our drivers license. An experienced attorney can help you retain it even if it is to drive back and forth to work.

They can also look at your actual arrest a lot more thoroughly. This includes looking unconstitutional doings by the arresting officer. Did they have real probably cause to pull you over? Did they read you our Miranda rights?

You can also count on their guidance to help you in your case. They have most likely been in court for several hundred or even thousand cases and know exactly what to expect. The plea bargain is one of the things that they know about and will know exactly what to ask for. That may include probation or community service which is a lot better then possible jail time. They can also help keep your criminal record clean which is very important for a lot of different reasons by itself.

Facing a DUI charge in court can be made a lot easier by hiring a DUI lawyer. If you find yourself facing a charge make sure you » Read more: Why You Should Consider a DUI Lawyer If You Get Pulled Over For Drunk Driving