New Everytown Analysis Reveals Road Rage Shootings at Highest Levels in Six Years Through 2021

Analysis Shows at Least 44 People per Month Were Shot and Killed or Wounded in Road Rage Shootings in 2021 – The Highest Levels in Six Years

New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin and Tennessee Had Highest Rates of Road Rage Shootings in 2021

NEW YORK — Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund today released new data and analysis on road rage shootings in the United States which revealed that over 500 people were shot and injured or killed – 44 people per month– by road rage incidents in 2021. The latest analysis reflects an increase from the previous six years. In fact, in 2021, a person was shot and either wounded or killed in a road rage incident every 17 hours. So far in 2022, there have been at least 114 incidents of road rage with a gun. 

“Driving gets heated in plenty of other countries, but only in the U.S. is someone shot and injured or killed every 17 hours in a road rage incident,” said Sarah Burd-Sharps, director of research for Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. “The difference is clear: easy access to guns can turn these incidents deadly. We’ve seen a national increase in shootings during the pandemic, and this increase has played out on our streets and highways, too.”

“This new data makes it clear that seatbelts and airbags aren’t enough to keep Americans safe on the road — we need to stop NRA allies in the statehouses from passing permitless carry legislation, which will lead to more untrained and unvetted people carrying guns in cars,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Drivers have enough to worry about — the last thing they should have to fear is that every traffic misunderstanding could end with shots being fired.”

“Given the recent spike in gun sales in the United States, combined with the gun lobby’s ‘guns everywhere’ agenda, it’s no surprise we’re seeing crisis levels of road rage involving guns,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “We will not accept a new normal in which the retaliation for a honked horn is gunfire. Our lawmakers must take action to pass gun safety laws proven to save lives.”

Additional key findings on road rage in 2021, based on analysis of data from Gun Violence Archive: 

• States with the highest rates of road rage shootings include New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin and Tennessee. 
• Nearly two-thirds of road rage incidents resulted in injury or death – which is up from one-third between 2016-2019. 
• The monthly average number of people shot and killed or wounded in road rage incidents involving a gun has doubled from 22 deaths and injuries per month prior to the pandemic to 44 in 2021. 
• In 2016 thru 2019, under 300 people each of these years were shot and wounded or killed in a road rage incident, but in 2021, there were over 500 people shot and wounded or killed,  which is the highest level in six years.

The new analysis comes as statehouses across the country are working to gut permitting and training requirements for carrying a concealed, loaded gun in public at the objection of law enforcement leaders. Permitless carry legislation is designed to increase the number of people who have guns in public places, including in their cars, by removing basic public safety protections like background checks and firearm safety training. This policy won’t make us safer and has been shown to increase gun violence in states. As lawmakers look to reduce gun violence, including road rage shootings, stopping dangerous permitless carry bills must be a part of their work.

Although research is still not clear on what is causing the increase in road rage shootings, the pandemic brought new stressors into people’s lives and exacerbated underlying ones. These stressors, combined with record increases in gun sales and a national increase in shootings, suggest that these changes have played out in road rage incidents as well.