Armed Road Rage: Arkansas

Showing posts with label Arkansas. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Dad Waves Gun at Another Car While Driving Kids to School

John Dustin Rains of Jonesboro, Arkansas appeared in court this week accused of pulling a gun in a road rage incident while driving his two children to school. The incident happened in January. Jonesboro police received a call from a driver saying he had just been threatened by another driver waving a gun at him. He reported that the car had pulled into the driveway of a local elementary school. Police located Rains inside the school and found a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in his pocket.
Rains has been charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare or a minor, and possession of a firearm on school property. He posted bail and is due back in court in October.

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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'."