The Real Peril of Road Rage

You’re just minding your own business trying to get to work—another day, another dollar, yada, yada, yada. Then, without warning, it happens.

Another driver, who apparently thinks he owns the road—including the lane you’re driving in—screams past and quickly darts in front of you, cutting you off and forcing you to stomp on the brakes to avoid a collision. Of course, you lay on your horn loud and long; what else would you do, right? He responds with the middle finger over his shoulder, prompting you to give a double dose right back at him with a few choice words, which you enunciate way more than necessary to make sure he can easily read your lips in his rearview mirror.

Just another day in rush hour, right? What you likely don’t realize is that despite the mistreatment you received from the other driver, by escalating the incident you might just end up in jail—or even the family plot at the cemetery.

The Rise of Road Rage

It doesn’t seem that long ago that road rage was a nearly unheard-of phenomenon. Now, however, with what could be described as a general coarsening of American society, incidents that used to be minor traffic infractions lead to anger, violence and even death.

In fact, aggressive driving has become part of many drivers’ daily commutes, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s 2019 data, which states that “nearly 80 percent of those surveyed reported experiencing anger to the point of becoming aggressive or filled with rage while driving at least one time in the previous 30 days.”

According to the same source, 26 percent of Americans surveyed (57 million drivers) had engaged in aggressive driving by switching lanes quickly or following very closely behind another car, 32 percent (71 million) made rude gestures or honked at other drivers, 31 percent (68 million) had driven through a red light, and 22 percent (49 million) passed in front of a vehicle at less than a car length. All of that occurred within the 30 days prior to the survey.

Whether this aggressive driving is the cause of road rage incidents or the result of road rage in drivers is up for debate. But according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about a third of auto crashes can be linked to road rage actions including illegal maneuvers, changing lanes without signaling, speeding and tailgating.

Further statistics suggest about 30 murders occur each year due to conflicts sparked by road rage, and that number doesn’t even include the accidental vehicle fatalities caused by road rage behavior.

Finally, the road rage situation in the United States is so dire that road rage is listed as an exemption in many vehicle insurance policies, meaning no coverage is extended in such incidents.

Road Rage and You

Given those figures, it shouldn’t surprise most readers to learn road rage self-defense incidents make up a high percentage of cases handled by U.S. LawShield Independent Program Attorneys (IPAs), according to Emily Taylor, an IPA in Texas, and a partner with the Houston law firm Walker & Taylor, PLLC.

“Of the things that get many people I deal with arrested, probably somewhere between 85 and 88 percent is road rage,” Taylor says. “That’s not really the most common defensive incident. But it is the most likely to get you arrested by a wide margin.”

The reason why, according to James Phillips, an IPA in Florida, is that often the person who instigated the road rage incident, causing the person to draw his or firearm, immediately calls 911 and makes a false report.

“I would say, probably 75 percent of the time there are no shots fired,” Phillips says. “Usually, it is the gun being flashed to de-escalate. And the client thinks that because it’s de-escalated it’s done with, so he keeps driving. Then the other person calls 911, and when the client gets home the cops are showing up or they’re pulling him over down the road because the other guy gets his tag number.”

The chance that instigators of road rage incidents are also notorious for lying doesn’t help the situation any for U.S. LawShield members who become road rage victims.

“Nobody’s going to call 911 and say, ‘Hey, I was trying to run this guy off the road, so he pulled a gun on me,’” Phillips says. “They’re always going to say, ‘This guy was driving like a lunatic, I honked at him and he pulled a gun.’ That’s like the universal statement they always give.”

What’s likely to happen next to the person who pulled his gun—whether justified or not—is something that should make every reader think long and hard about returning a nasty hand gesture or doing some retaliatory tailgating to try to “pay back” a dangerous driver.

“What’s for sure going to happen is if cops make it to the scene or pull you over, they’re going to pull you out, handcuff you and secure you immediately,” Phillips says. “They’re probably going to ask what happened. They’ll say, ‘We got a call that you pulled a gun on someone. Why don’t you tell us what happened?’ Which is, of course, never a good thing because you’re not supposed to talk to the cops without talking to us first. You may get arrested and go to jail. In Florida, if there’s a firearm involved, you’re going to get a no-bond, and you’ll have to go before a judge the next day to get a bond. So, you’ll definitely get bonded out, but you’re probably going to spend a night in jail until you can see a judge.”

Of course, that’s just the beginning of the problems a person can face, even in an incident in which armed self-defense is permissible under the law.

“Certainly, our client will face arrest,” Taylor says, “and possibly be splashed all over the news, since the news cycle is so constant these days. He or she will need to retain an attorney for what is generally a felony. Probably a good national average on that is 10 grand, and that’s just the retainer—not the trial fees, experts or any other costs that may be associated. Probably as a condition of bond you’ve lost your right to carry, although that’s up to a court, but it’s quite common. So, not only are you fighting for your freedom, but you’re also defenseless while you’re doing it, which is really uncomfortable for a lot of people.”