Armed Road Rage: October 2012

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Road rage incident leaves one dead, one shot, and one injured

Three people in an SUV, two men and a three-year-old boy, were traveling on Highway 151 in San Antonio, Texas. The SUV apparently cut off a red truck traveling in the same direction.
The driver of the truck responded by pulling out a gun and shooting at the SUV.
Both vehicles then lost control and both vehicles ended up rolling over.
The driver of the truck, a man believed to be in his 40s, was killed. The passenger in the SUV was shot in the arm. All three people from the SUV were taken to the hospital. The men were in serious condition. The little boy is expected to be okay.
Under Texas law you don't need a concealed weapons permit to have a gun in your car. The gun just can't be in plain site.

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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'."