Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimidate or release frustration. Road rage can lead to altercations, damage to property, assaults, and collisions that result in serious physical injuries or even death. Strategies include (but are not limited to) cutting motorists off, inappropriate honking, flipping off another driver, swerving, tailgating, brake checking and attempting to fight. According to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that examined police records nationally, there were more than 1,250 incidents of road rage on average reported per year between 19901996 in the United States. Many of these incidents have ended with serious injuries or fatalities. These rates rose yearly throughout the six years of the study. A number of studies have found that individuals with road rage are predominantly young (33 years old on average) and 96.6% male. Legal status In some jurisdictions, there can be a legal difference between "road rage" and "aggressive driving." In the U.S., only a few states have enacted special aggressive driving laws, where road rage cases are normally prosecuted as assault and battery (with or without a vehicle), or as vehicular homicide. The legal definition of road rage encompasses a group of behaviors expressed while driving, or stemming from traffic-related incidents. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines road rage as when "[t]he operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property." This definition makes the distinction that aggressive driving is a traffic violation and that road rage is a criminal offense. Types Road rage can include: Shouting, excessive use of a horn or obscene gestures and threats. Actions such as cutting off another vehicle, driving closely, blocking another vehicle so that it can not use a traffic lane, chasing another vehicle or running it off the road or deliberately slamming into a vehicle. Stopping a vehicle on the side or in the middle of the road, exiting the vehicle to threaten, attack, fight or injure another motorist, passenger, pedestrian, bicyclist or any other person. Effects on drivers A stressed driver's behavior depends on that driver's coping abilities. Generally, drivers who score high on aggression tests use direct confrontation strategies when faced with stress while driving. Many drivers