Aggressive Driving · Definition, Law & What to Do
What is aggressive driving, and what should you do?
An aggressive driver is someone who commits several moving violations in a row and puts other people at risk. Speeding, tailgating, weaving, running lights. It is a pattern, not one rude moment. That is the safety definition, and it is the one driver-education courses teach. The legal definition is different. Each state writes its own. Only two of our seven states put the phrase in their law: Arizona and Florida. In the other five, there is no offense called aggressive driving.
Every claim below names its source — a statute section, FLHSMV, FDOT, a state DOT or NHTSA.
When you encounter one ↓ The legal definition ↓
Serving 116,000+ drivers since 2014
Safety guidance Not a charge
“A combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property.”
NHTSA’s definition, quoted by FDOT. This is the sentence your course is teaching. It describes a pattern, and it says nothing about anger.
The law 2 of our 7 states
- Arizona · A.R.S. §28-695
- A speed violation plus two more listed violations plus an immediate hazard. A class 1 misdemeanor.
- Florida · F.S. 316.1923
- Two or more of six listed acts, together or in succession. A definition with no penalty of its own.
Texas, Michigan, Missouri, Idaho and Pennsylvania: no such offense. The same driving is charged as reckless or careless.
What it looks like from your car
How to identify an aggressive driver: look for the pattern, not the moment
You may be able to identify an aggressive driver by a pattern rather than a single act — several moving violations inside a short stretch of road. Speeding. Tailgating. Weaving. Lane changes without a signal. Passing improperly or on the shoulder. Running lights and stop signs. The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s list adds the ones you can see through the glass: hand and facial gestures, screaming, honking, flashing lights.
Symptom, characteristic, example — they are all the same list
A symptom of aggressive driving is whatever the car is doing that a course has just listed: speeding, tailgating, weaving, running a light. A course will ask you for a symptom, then a characteristic, then which option is an example of aggressive driving. Those are three ways of asking one question. The answer always comes from the same list of behaviors. An aggressive driver is defined as the person doing them, not as a person in a particular mood. Both the safety definition and the statutes are built from behaviors, not from a state of mind. To a traffic officer, what matters is what the car did, not how the driver felt. So if an option on the list is a moving violation that endangers somebody, it counts.
Improper passing is on the list, and a statute is where that comes from
Improper passing is an example of aggressive driving behavior, and it is not a judgment call. It is one of the six acts Florida names in its own definition of aggressive careless driving, at F.S. 316.1923(5). Passing on the right by driving off the pavement is one of the violations Arizona counts toward the offense in A.R.S. §28-695. And FDOT lists improper passing beside speeding, failure to yield, unsafe lane changes, following too closely and disobeying traffic control devices. Three independent sources, one answer.
| Behavior | Florida's definition | Arizona's offense | Safety guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speeding | Yes — act (1) | Required, not optional: §28-701(A) or §28-701.02 | Yes — FDOT calls it one of the two most-cited |
| Following too closely | Yes — act (3) | Yes — §28-730 | Yes |
| Unsafe or improper lane change | Yes — act (2) | Yes — §28-729 | Yes |
| Improper passing | Yes — act (5) | Only passing on the right by leaving the pavement, §28-724 | Yes |
| Failure to yield the right-of-way | Yes — act (4) | Yes — Article 9 | Yes |
| Disobeying signals and signs | Yes — act (6) | Yes — §28-644 | Yes — FDOT names red-light running |
| Gestures, screaming, honking, flashing lights | No — not one of the six acts | No — not an enumerated violation | Yes — MnDOT lists all four |
| An immediate hazard to another person or vehicle | Not required | Required — the offense needs it | Implied by the definition: conduct that endangers |
Statute, not guidance
The legal definition of aggressive driving is written state by state
There is no federal law against aggressive driving, and no single legal definition. NHTSA’s sentence is safety guidance. It is quoted everywhere, but nobody is charged under it. The law is written state by state. Of the seven states we teach in, only Arizona and Florida use the phrase in their code.
Arizona: a person commits the offense when three things are true at once
Arizona has the real thing. In plain terms, Arizona charges aggressive driving only when three things happen in one stretch of driving. You were speeding. You also broke at least two more rules from a short list, such as tailgating or an unsafe lane change. And your driving was an immediate hazard to another person or vehicle. Miss any one of those and it is not this offense. A conviction is a class 1 misdemeanor. That is a crime, not a civil ticket. You must complete an approved traffic survival school. The court can also suspend your license for 30 days, even on a first conviction. A second conviction within 24 months means a one-year suspension.
The statute, for the record. Under A.R.S. §28-695, a person commits the offense of aggressive driving when, during a single course of conduct, they (1) violate the speed law — §28-701(A) or §28-701.02 — and commit at least two more from a short list: disobeying a traffic control device (§28-644), passing on the right by driving off the pavement (§28-724), an unsafe lane change (§28-729), following too closely (§28-730), or failing to yield the right-of-way (Article 9); and (2) the driving is an immediate hazard to another person or vehicle. Miss any one of those and it is not this offense. A conviction is a class 1 misdemeanor, traffic survival school approved by the department is mandatory on conviction (§28-695(C)(1)), the court may order a thirty-day suspension on a first conviction (§28-695(C)(2)), and a second conviction inside 24 months carries a mandatory one-year suspension.
Florida defines the term but attaches no penalty to it
F.S. 316.1923 says “aggressive careless driving” means committing two or more of six acts, simultaneously or in succession: exceeding the posted speed by more than 15 mph — act (1) cross-references the point schedule at s. 322.27(3)(d)5.b., not the ordinary speeding section — unsafely or improperly changing lanes, following another vehicle too closely, failing to yield the right-of-way, improperly passing, and violating traffic control and signal devices. Read the section closely and you will notice what is not there: a penalty. It is a definition. So a Florida driver is cited for the underlying violations, or for careless driving under F.S. 316.1925, which is a moving violation punishable under chapter 318. The definition still matters, because it is the one Florida’s own driver-education material is built on — which is to say, it is the one your quiz came from.
In the other five states the phrase is not a charge
Texas, Michigan, Missouri, Idaho and Pennsylvania have no offense called aggressive driving. The same driving is charged as reckless or careless: Texas Transportation Code §545.401 (wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property), Michigan MCL 257.626b (careless or negligent, likely to endanger, but without wantonness), Missouri RSMo §304.012 (careless and imprudent — Missouri also requires the highest degree of care), Idaho Code §49-1401 (reckless driving), and Pennsylvania 75 Pa.C.S. §3736 (reckless) or §3714 (careless). If a question asks for “the legal definition of aggressive driving” without naming a state, the honest answer is that it depends on the state. If the question is scoring you, it wants the definition in the material you were given.
The six moves, in order
When you encounter an aggressive driver you should get out of the way — and give them nothing
Do one thing first: get out of their way as soon as you can do it safely. Everything else follows from that. The Minnesota Department of Transportation publishes the rest of the list. Stay calm, because getting there safely is the goal. Do not challenge them. Avoid eye contact. Ignore gestures and do not return them. Keep your belt on, so a sudden move does not throw you out of position. Then report the driver from a safe place, with the plate and a description.
When encountering an aggressive driver you should do the boring thing
Eye contact is the item that surprises people. A look reads as a challenge to someone who is already worked up. It costs you nothing to keep your eyes forward. The same logic runs through the whole list. If you are confronted with an aggressive driver, assume that any response which feels satisfying will keep the encounter going.
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Get out of their way
Move over and let them pass as soon as you can do it safely. This is the first item on every set of guidance we could source, and the only one that ends the encounter rather than managing it.
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Do not challenge them
Do not speed up, block the lane, or match what they are doing. Reaching your destination is the goal; there is no version of this where you win an argument at 65 mph.
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Avoid eye contact
It is on the published list, and the reason usually given is that a look reads as a challenge to a driver who is already escalating. Eyes forward, hands on the wheel.
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Ignore the gestures and do not return them
A returned gesture is the moment an encounter stops being about traffic. Give them nothing to answer.
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Keep your belt on and keep your space
MnDOT's reason for the belt is specific: it keeps you in position if the driving around you turns abrupt. Leave yourself a bigger gap in front than usual, too. That gap is your room to move forward and out of the way. And do not brake at a tailgater. FMCSA defines following too closely as a gap so short that the driver behind could not avoid hitting you if you braked suddenly.
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Report it from somewhere safe
MnDOT's item is to report it with the vehicle description, license number and location. Do that from a safe place rather than while driving — that part is ours, not MnDOT's. In Florida you can dial *FHP (*347) or 911; elsewhere call 911 or your state patrol's non-emergency line.
If someone is driving aggressively behind you, do not brake at them
Tailgating, flashing, sitting on your bumper: signal, move right and let them by. MnDOT gives the same advice for a driver being followed too closely: slow down slightly and let them pass. Do not brake at them. The federal FMCSA has a definition of following too closely. It is a gap so short that the driver behind cannot avoid a crash if you brake suddenly. That holds even when the driver behind is paying attention. A brake-check sets up exactly that crash. If you cannot move right, hold a steady speed and open the gap in front of you. That gap is your room to move out of the way, and a tailgater cannot take it from you.
The driver you control
To prevent yourself from becoming an aggressive driver, change the trip — not your temper
The move that works is leaving earlier. Look at the list of aggressive driving behaviors. Almost every one is what a driver does when they are late. Tailgating. Changing lanes to gain two car lengths. Running the yellow. Take away the time pressure and most of it goes away.
The rest is following distance. MnDOT advises a gap of at least three seconds. At 60 mph, it takes more than a football field to stop. A driver who keeps three seconds cannot tailgate. Tailgating is on every list of aggressive driving behaviors. It also puts you closest to the driver you are about to upset.
Aggressive driving can easily escalate into road rage — and they are not the same offense
NHTSA treats the two as different in kind, not in degree. Aggressive driving is a traffic matter: offenses that endanger. Road rage is criminal. NHTSA defines it as an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of one motor vehicle, or an assault precipitated by an incident that occurred on a roadway. That is the line between a citation and an assault charge. Most people who cross it did not set out to. That is the whole reason the “give them nothing” list exists.
The attitudes that push a driver toward risk
Course material often asks about “an attitude that predisposes you to risk-taking while driving.” That exact phrasing comes from question banks. No statute and no agency publishes a list under that heading. But the idea behind it is real and worth knowing. Four attitudes reliably come before risk-taking. Wanting to impress the people in the car. Chasing the thrill of the near miss. Treating the trip as a schedule to beat. Treating the road as somewhere you are owed something. None of those feel like aggression from the inside, which is why they are worth naming. If a course is scoring you on that sentence, the answer it wants is in your own course material. What is above is the concept, not an answer key.
Where the question came from
Two quiz claims we went looking for and could not source
Not every question about aggressive driving is a question about aggressive driving. Some are sentences from one course’s question bank, and the only places they appear are that bank and the flashcard sites that copied it. Here is the one you are most likely to have been sent here by.
“Aggressive driving occurs most often on primary roadways.”
We looked for the source and did not find one. No state or federal authority we checked publishes that claim. “Primary roadway” is a road-classification term, not a crash category, so there is nothing to check it against. What is published is narrower and more useful. FDOT says speeding and red-light running are the most frequently cited aggressive driving violations. Red-light running happens at signalized intersections. Those sit on arterial roads, not on freeways or residential streets. That is the closest sourced statement we could find, and it is not the same claim.
So we are not going to print a true-or-false verdict on a sentence nobody will stand behind. If a course is grading you on it, that course’s own material is the authority for its exam. Read that unit. Everywhere else on this page, a statute section or a named agency stands behind the sentence.
If a ticket is why you are here
What your state lets a course do about the citation
Most people reading this are part-way through a course because of a ticket. What a course can do about that ticket depends on your state. Start with Arizona, because it is the answer people get wrong. A defensive driving class cannot clear an A.R.S. §28-695 aggressive driving charge. It is a criminal violation with 8 points. It is not on the Supreme Court’s list of eligible violations. Arizona’s Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) also orders traffic survival school for it, no matter your point total. If that is your charge, talk to a lawyer before you buy any course.
For the ordinary underlying violation — the speeding ticket, the improper pass, the red light — every state we serve has its own mechanism, and each one is written out on its own page. The court decides in all seven of them. Nobody can promise you an outcome, and anyone who does is selling.
An eligible civil moving violation can go to court-diversion defensive driving and be dismissed. An A.R.S. §28-695 aggressive driving charge cannot — it is criminal, 8 points, and not on the eligible list.
Arizona — the full rules →Ask the court for the driving safety course when you respond. With the court's permission, finishing it dismisses an eligible citation.
Texas — the full rules →Electing Basic Driver Improvement keeps the points off your license. It does not erase the citation, and F.S. 316.1923 driving is usually charged as the underlying violations or as careless driving.
Florida — the full rules →The Basic Driver Improvement Course keeps the points off your record. The state also does not share the violation with insurers. You can use it once in a lifetime, and only if the Secretary of State finds you eligible. It mails you a letter with your deadline.
Michigan — the full rules →If the court — or a Fine Collections Center acting on its order — directs the Driver Improvement Program, the points are never assessed. The conviction still stands, you have to ask, and there is no guarantee you are allowed to.
Missouri — the full rules →No Pennsylvania course you can elect dismisses a ticket or removes points. PennDOT's own Driver Improvement School does remove four — but only when PennDOT orders it after a first six-point accumulation, never on request. The real uses here are insurer discount programs and voluntary improvement, and we say so on every PA page.
Pennsylvania — the full rules →Two of the seven dismiss an eligible citation. Three keep the points off the record. One takes three points back off it. One offers neither, and says so. The mechanisms live on how a ticket gets dismissed by state, the point schedules on what a ticket costs your record, and the courses themselves on defensive driving by state.
Aggressive driving, answered
Aggressive driving FAQ
What is aggressive driving?
Two different things wear that name, and courses test both. As safety guidance, NHTSA defines aggressive driving as a combination of moving traffic offenses that endanger other people or property. It is a pattern of violations, not one rude moment. As law, it depends on the state. Arizona has a real offense of aggressive driving in A.R.S. §28-695. Florida defines "aggressive careless driving" in F.S. 316.1923 but sets no penalty for it. The other five states we teach in have no offense by that name.
How is an aggressive driver defined?
An aggressive driver is a person who drives in a way that endangers other people or property. They do it by committing several moving violations in combination. Speeding, tailgating, weaving, unsignaled lane changes, improper passing, running lights and stop signs. That is NHTSA's framing, and it is what driver-education material teaches. Note what is not in it: no state of mind, and no single act. It is the combination that makes the definition.
Is improper passing an example of aggressive driving behavior?
Yes, and it is not a matter of opinion. Improper passing is one of the six acts Florida names in its own definition of aggressive careless driving, F.S. 316.1923(5). Arizona counts passing on the right only when the driver leaves the pavement to do it, A.R.S. §28-724. And FDOT lists improper passing alongside speeding, failure to yield, unsafe lane changes, following too closely and disobeying traffic control devices. Three sources, same answer.
When you encounter an aggressive driver, what should you do?
Get out of their way as soon as you can do it safely. That is the first move in every set of guidance we could source. Then give them nothing: do not challenge them, avoid eye contact, ignore gestures and do not return them, keep your belt on, hold a steady speed and leave extra space in front of you. Report the driver once you are somewhere safe, with the plate and a description. The Minnesota Department of Transportation publishes that list, and it matches what NHTSA has advised for years.
If someone is driving aggressively behind you, what should you do?
Signal, move right and let them by. That is MnDOT's advice for a driver being followed too closely: slow down slightly and allow them to pass. What you should not do is brake at them. FMCSA defines following too closely as a gap so short that the following driver could not avoid a collision even while paying attention, in the case where the driver in front brakes suddenly — which is a description of what a brake-check produces. If you cannot move right, hold a steady speed and open the gap in front of you instead.
What can aggressive driving escalate into?
Road rage. NHTSA treats the two as different in kind, not in degree. Aggressive driving is a traffic matter: offenses that endanger. Road rage is criminal. NHTSA defines it as an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator or passenger of one motor vehicle, or an assault precipitated by an incident that occurred on a roadway. That is the line between a citation and an assault charge. It is usually crossed by someone who did not set out to cross it.
When does a person commit the offense of aggressive driving?
In Arizona, where the offense actually exists, three things must happen during one course of conduct. The driver violates the speed law (A.R.S. §28-701(A) or §28-701.02). The driver also commits at least two more from a short list: disobeying a traffic control device, passing on the right by leaving the pavement, an unsafe lane change, following too closely, or failing to yield. And the driving is an immediate hazard to another person or vehicle. All of it has to be true at once. Conviction is a class 1 misdemeanor. Traffic survival school approved by the department is mandatory. The court may order a thirty-day suspension even on a first conviction. A second conviction within 24 months means a mandatory one-year suspension.
Is aggressive driving a crime in Florida?
Not as its own charge. F.S. 316.1923 defines "aggressive careless driving" as two or more of six listed acts committed simultaneously or in succession, but the section sets no penalty of its own. In practice a Florida driver is cited for the underlying violations, or for careless driving under F.S. 316.1925, which is a moving violation punishable under chapter 318. The definition matters because it is what the state's driver-education material teaches — and what the quiz in front of you is drawn from.
Does a defensive driving course clear an aggressive driving charge?
For the ordinary underlying ticket, often — and what "clear" means depends on the state. For a charge actually filed as aggressive driving, no, at least not in the state that has the offense: Arizona's A.R.S. §28-695 is criminal, carries 8 points, and is not on the Supreme Court's list of violations eligible for court-diversion defensive driving. MVD also orders traffic survival school for it regardless of your point total. If you are facing 28-695, talk to a lawyer before you buy any course. Our Arizona course is for eligible civil moving violations.
What is the difference between aggressive driving and reckless driving?
Aggressive driving, where it is defined, is built from a list: a speed violation plus other specific violations, plus in Arizona an immediate hazard. Reckless driving is built from a state of mind — wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property, in Texas Transportation Code §545.401 and Pennsylvania 75 Pa.C.S. §3736, or heedless and without due caution in Idaho Code §49-1401. In the five states with no aggressive driving offense, that is where this driving lands: reckless or careless driving, charged under those sections.
You came for the answer. Now go and deal with the ticket.
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