New Everytown Report Finds, On Average, Someone Was Wounded or Killed in a Road Rage Shooting Every 18 Hours in 2023
As Americans Take to the Road for the Holidays, New Report Sheds Light on Road Rage Shooting Rates and Preventative Measures
SANTA FE, N.M. – Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund today released a new report which found that the number of road rage shootings remains much higher than pre-pandemic rates, despite a downward trend in national violent crime rates. The report found that New Mexico leads the country in the rate of people wounded and killed by a gun in a road rage incident. Everytown’s analysis, which draws on data from the Gun Violence Archive, shows that in 2023, four people were shot and killed, and seven were shot and wounded, with a rate of 6.16 per one million in people shot. Nationally, 483 people were shot in road rage incidents, resulting in 118 deaths and 365 injuries.
“Experiencing aggressive driving is not uncommon, and happens in every country. But only in the United States can the presence of a gun turn an unpleasant few minutes in the car into a life-threatening incident,” said Sarah Burd-Sharps, Senior Director of Research at Everytown for Gun Safety. “Legislation that makes it easier and more likely for people to bring their gun into their car means loaded guns are readily available in tense situations. Our research strongly suggests that requiring a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public can help protect our communities from road rage shootings.”
Key findings from the report include:
- 13 people were shot in road rage incidents throughout New Mexico, resulting in four people shot and killed, and nine people shot and wounded.
- New Mexico nearly doubled (6.16), in comparison to the closest state (Arizona), the rate of people shot in road rage incidents (3.67).
- While nearly every state in the country saw at least one victim from a road rage shooting in 2023, a significant disparity exists between states.
- New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee, Colorado, and Wisconsin, the five states with the highest rate of people shot in road rage incidents, make up only 8 percent of the U.S. population but saw 20 percent of road rage shooting victims.
- According to the report, nine northeastern states have both the lowest rates of victimization from road rage shootings and overall stronger gun laws than much of the nation.
More information and statistics about the research nationally is available here.
A separate national study found that motorists in a vehicle with a gun were more likely to behave rudely or aggressively and to exhibit road rage—making obscene gestures, cutting off other cars, or engaging in other dangerous driving behavior. In the United States, it is legal to carry a concealed handgun in public in all 50 states. However, 21 states require a person to have a permit to carry a loaded, concealed handgun in public and 25 states completely eliminated their concealed carry permit requirement between 2015 and 2023 – often over the objection of law enforcement.
Although standards and processes vary, state concealed carry permit requirements often require applicants to pass a criminal background check, complete safety training, complete live-fire shooting exercises, and be a resident of the state. Many of these states also give law enforcement the authority to deny permits to people who pose a danger to the public. These laws promote responsible gun ownership and ensure core public safety standards are preserved when people carry concealed guns in public places.
While more research on road rage shootings is needed, one thing is clear: gun safety policies — particularly those that require a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public — protect our communities from road rage shootings. As road rage shootings remain stubbornly high, action from policymakers to prevent gun violence is more urgent than ever.
About Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund (the “Everytown Support Fund”) is the education, research and litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly 11 million supporters and more than 700,000 donors. The Everytown Support Fund seeks to improve our understanding of the causes of gun violence and help to reduce it by conducting groundbreaking original research, developing evidence-based policies, communicating this knowledge to the American public, and advancing gun safety and gun violence prevention in communities and the courts. Learn more at www.everytownsupportfund.org.