When it comes to road rage, Houston is king – and not just in the Lone Star State. Houston has more road rage incidents than any other city in the nation.
Texas has 741 such cases from 2014 – 2023. H-Town accounted for nearly 30% of those incidents, or 215 cases. Incredibly, 207 people were killed or wounded in those incidents according to data provided by Gun Violence Archive, a local nonprofit. One of the main causes of those deaths has been gun violence. In 72% of those 741 cases, or 530, someone was shot.
For perspective, Florida, which is rightfully viewed as ground zero for crazy, violent behavior among America’s 50 states, only suffered 488 road rage cases during that same 10-year period.
Making matters worse, Houston was number one in this horrific category by far, doubling the number of road rage incidents reported by the second-place city, Memphis.
Nationally, road rage incidents, especially those involving guns have doubled in the last decade (2014 – 2023) to a staggering 3,095. Worse still, 777 individuals were killed in those incidents. That’s a 25% clip according to the nonprofit newsroom The Trace.
Even more troubling, as if the doubling of road rage cases weren’t enough, the number of persons killed or injured in those incidents has increased by five times.
Some suspect Texas’s increasingly lax gun control laws, along with a nation whose citizens seem more frustrated, stressed and on edge than ever, as the potential drivers to this explosion of statewide road rage.
According to multiple medical studies, the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – impacts still not fully known – could play a part, as Symptoms of anxiety and depression increased during the pandemic, especially among individuals in households experiencing job loss.
Whatever the reasons, and no one has been able to identify why Houston, is so far and away leading in road rage incidents, Bayou City drivers are cautioned to travel under high alert.
Road Rage Info
Consumer Affairs identified the following behaviors as the most widespread in the U.S:
· Speeding on highway: 48%
· Tailgating: 34%
· Honking/gestures: 32%
· Running a red light: 31%
· Aggressive driving: 26%
· Cutting another vehicle off: 22%
Driver habits to lessen chances of experiencing road rage:
· Reduce your stress by pre-planning your trip and allowing plenty of time to get to your destination.
· Be patient and courteous to other drivers.
· Don’t take other drivers’ actions personally.
· Avoid aggressive driving.
Additional tips from law enforcement:
· Avoid tailgating
· Let drivers pass
· Use turn signal
· Let drivers merge
· Consider others in parking lots
· Avoid eye contact
· Do not respond to aggression with aggression
· Be tolerant and forgiving
· Avoid offensive hand gestures
· Call 911 if threatened
