Armed Road Rage: September 2011

Friday, September 16, 2011

Man admits to brandishing handgun with malice intent in road rage incident

Two cars were driving on M-40 near Gobles, Michigan. 34-year-old Robert Fisher of Paw Paw was in one car and a couple was in the other. Fisher pulled out in front of the couple, almost causing an accident. The situation escalated and Fisher pulled out a .357 snubnosed revolver and "aggressively" showed it to the couple. The couple called 911 and a short time later the police stopped Fisher. They found a loaded handgun in the car and arrested him on charges of felony firearm violation, carrying a concealed weapon, and possession of an unregistered handgun. (Michigan is one of a handful of states that require handguns be registered. Most states don't have this requirement.)
No one was injured, but the couple was pretty shaken up. Fished admitted to police that the handgun wasn't registered. He told police he was upset because the other car was tailgating him and that he "brandished the handgun with malice intent." He is being held on $10,000 bond.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Man upset with car tailgating him fires shot

74-year-old John Hart of Columbus, Georgia admitted that he fired his gun at another car while driving on the interstate spur. According to police, Hart was driving slowly in the far left lane when a black Dodge Ram pulled up close behind him. Hart told police that after he moved into the other lane the passenger in the Dodge made an obscene gesture at him as the vehicle passed so he fired a shot.
Neither the 49-year-old male driver or the 56-year-old female passenger were hurt. Hart was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of discharging a firearm within city limits. Georgia law does not require any sort of permit or safety training in order to be able to carry a loaded gun in a private passenger motor vehicle.

States have made it easier and easier for motorists to carry loaded guns in their vehicles. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health asked the question, "Are motorists with guns in the car more or less likely to engage in hostile and aggressive behavior? The studies concluded that "riding with a firearm in the vehicle was a marker for aggressive and dangerous driver behavior."

(see Accident Analysis and Prevention, Nov. 2005, issue 38, pgs. 687-695 and 2002, issue 34, pgs. 807-814)

Authors Hemenway, Vriniotis, and Miller write, "Road rage may be most dangerous when an enraged motorists has immediate access to a lethal weapon, such as a gun. Our study finds that motorists who have ridden with firearms in their vehicles are more likely to make obscene gestures at other drivers and to follow other drivers aggressively. They are also more likely to be the victims of these behaviors. Contrary to common claims, it does not appear that 'an armed society is a polite society'."