What you Should know About Brake Checking

While aggressive driving, consistently disregarding motor vehicle laws, is negligent driving, road rage refers to vengeful, intentional actions that have the potential to harm another driver. The attorneys at Leo & Oginni Trial Lawyers can offer advice on the differences in the legalities that can arise from aggressive driving or road rage, such as cutting in front of another driver and slowing down or intentionally slamming on brakes to force the driver following behind to react or crash. Learn the dangers of brake checking and the legal consequences that can result.

Causes and Motivations Behind Brake Checking

A road rage response to the actions of another driver can be a motivation or cause for brake checking. The driver responding to the aggressive driving of others, especially those who may be tailgating, may feel they need to teach them a lesson by a brake check, meaning slamming on the brakes. 

In some cases, insurance fraud can motivate brake checks. The idea is that a driver intentionally and suddenly applies their brakes to cause the driver behind them to collide with the rear end of their car. Then, the driver who brake-checked will claim that the unsuspecting driver caused the accident by tailgating or driving recklessly. 

Dangers and Consequences of Brake Checking

Whatever the reasons that a driver may brake check, it can have severe and costly consequences. It can ultimately result in property damage and personal injuries that will have to be compensated for and can have long-lasting effects on individuals and families.

If a driver has to swerve or loses control of their car because of the intentional actions of another, car and property damage, injuries, or even death can occur to them and possibly other drivers in the vicinity. The act of causing an accident through brake checking can cause a chain reaction of trauma and destruction.

Legal Implications of Brake Checking

According to the NHTSA, 

"Although some States have passed laws criminalizing aggressive driving, it should not be confused with road rage, which is an intentional assault by a driver or passenger with a motor vehicle or a weapon that occurs on the roadway or is precipitated by an incident on the roadway."

Criminal Charges

According to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), road rage actions that include intentional, violent, and extreme behaviors are criminal offenses. Road rage actions can consist of throwing objects at another vehicle, ramming or sideswiping a vehicle, forcing a driver off the road, physically assaulting a driver, or, according to Consumer Affairs, brake checking that causes a harmful result.

If brake checking causes an accident, assault criminal charges can be applied. Class A misdemeanor assault offenses in Texas mean intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to another. If the accident caused serious bodily harm, this is considered aggravated assault and can result in a second-degree felony charge. 

Intentional Torts

If no criminal charges are levied, the victim can still file a civil suit to be compensated for economic and noneconomic losses if they can prove the brake checking was done knowingly, willingly, and purposefully to harm them. Sometimes, intentional tort suits can lead to criminal charges being filed, but being charged criminally is unnecessary for an intentional tort suit to be resolved in favor of the victim.

Punitive Damages

The victim can also ask for punitive damages in addition to compensation if they can prove that the behavior was especially extreme or reckless. The purpose of punitive damages is to add a monetary punishment separate from compensation and to possibly deter the defendant from repeating the act. 

Do You Need Legal Help in Texas? Contact Leo & Oginni Trial Lawyers Today!

If you've been involved in a car accident that may have involved road rage, you'll need the Leo & Oginni Trial Lawyers to pursue justice for you for an optimum outcome. Contact us today for a consultation on how we can help with the legal issues that may have resulted from brake checking.