Road rage is a serious issue for motorists on American highways. More worryingly, angry drivers are taking their potentially deadly actions beyond reckless driving. Tragically, road rage incidents involving guns have skyrocketed in the last decade.

According to data from the Pew Research Center, gun violence in road rage incidents has increased exponentially in the last decade

Most motorists experience some sort of frustration behind the wheel. Let’s face it, dealing with distracted drivers, traffic, and those faux Fast & Furious characters can drive just about anyone nuts. However, frustration, regardless of the situation, is a poor excuse to brandish a firearm against another person on the road.

Unfortunately, the number of road rage incidents involving gun violence has increased dramatically since 2015. According to the Pew Research Center, at least 118 people died in 2023 due to a road rage-related shooting. In addition to the 118 fatalities, at least 367 drivers and passengers were injured by firearms in these rage cases. 2024 may prove to be even deadlier for motorists, as approximately 116 people have been killed due to road rage gun violence as of October. 

However, 2022 has been the deadliest year in recent record, with 148 killings and 421 injured by firearms on the road. Unfortunately, those figures represent an exponential rise over the data from 2015. In fact, over three times as many people died in 2022 compared to 2015 due to road rage shootings. Still, data from sources like the Gun Violence Archive only covers specific instances and may leave out cases categorized as serious crimes like homicide. 

Of course, that’s not saying every, or even most, gun owners are irresponsible with their firearms. As of last year, over 30% of Americans own at least one firearm. Most of those individuals don’t shoot people for cutting them off on busy highways. Still, a firearm isn’t a device for settling petty driving disputes. It’s not just firearms, either. Unfortunately, some aggressive drivers will attack other motorists with anything from their bare hands to hammers and knives.

Carrying a weapon is your prerogative. Your rights are protected by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, carrying a weapon doesn’t give you the license to use it against another person because you feel slighted or disrespected. Take a deep breath. Stay alive. And let others do the same.