Road Rage - Penalties

Penalties

Road rage is a relatively serious act: It may be seen as an endangerment of public safety. It is, however, not always possible to judge intent by external observation, so "road ragers" who are stopped by police may be charged with other offences such as careless or reckless driving. In some jurisdictions, such as the American Commonwealth of Virginia, it is easier to prosecute road rage as reckless driving instead of aggressive driving simply because the burden of proof does not require "intent" to successfully convict.

It is likely that those causing serious injury or death during "road rage" incidents will suffer more serious penalties than those applicable to similar outcomes from simple negligence. In April 2007, a Colorado driver was convicted of first-degree murder for causing the deaths of two motorists in November 2005. He will serve a mandatory sentence of two consecutive life terms.

Fourteen U.S. states have passed laws against aggressive driving. Only one state, California, has turned "road rage" into a legal term of art by giving it a particular meaning. It is worth noting, however, that in Virginia aggressive driving is punished as a lesser crime (Class 2 misdemeanour) than reckless driving (Class 1 misdemeanour).

In New Zealand, road rage is not a specific offence. This means road rage incidents are recorded as "assaults" on police statistics. There are no laws against menacingly chasing another motorist or ramming their vehicles off the road. Road rage drivers are neither disqualified nor have their vehicles forfeited or destroyed on order of the courts for any offence committed in such acts and furthermore the Police do not regard road rage complaints as a priority, however in the case of serious injury or death, charges of attempted murder or even manslaughter will apply.

In New South Wales, Australia, road rage is considered an extremely serious act, Any person who chases another motorist or shows intimidating and/or bullying towards another road user can be charged with predatory driving, a serious offence that can leave the culprit in jail for up to 5 years, fined A$100,000, and disqualified from driving, regardless of whether he or she intended to harm the victim physically or not. If the predatory driving results in a physical assault or harm and/or the victim's car was intentionally damaged, the penalties can be much more severe.

Additionally, most common-law countries prohibit common assault, which could apply to road rage where the personal safety of the victim is seen to be threatened. The common law regards assault as both a criminal and civil matter, leading to both public criminal penalties and private civil liabilities.

In the UK, road rage can result in criminal penalties for assault or more serious offences against the person. The Public Order Act 1986 can also apply to road rage. Sections 4A and 5 of the 1986 Act prohibit public acts likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Section 4 also prohibits threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause a victim to believe that violence will be used against himself or another.