Armed Road Rage: January 2013

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Road Rage and Guns Quickly Become a Deadly Mix

An Aol Autos article by Pete Bigelow looks at how Road Rage and Guns Quickly Become a Deadly Mix.
The article notes:

Pinpointing exactly how often guns are used to settle road-rage disputes is a difficult proposition. The NHTSA and the Dept. of Transportation do not keep track of road-rage incidents, gun or otherwise.

In a study, the AAA Foundation analyzed police reports of more than 10,000 road-rage incidents committed over a seven-year period and found they resulted in at least 12,610 injury cases and 218 murders.

Although it may be hard to quantify, traffic experts and regular drivers alike agree that road rage is getting worse.

The article concludes with the advice "do not retaliate against a road-rage instigator. You have no idea whether the person has a weapon. Be smart. Try to leave the area of the instigator as quickly and safely as possible. Call 911 as fast as possible."

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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'."