Road Rage Crimes, Penalties, and Defenses in California
Generally, road rage is described as a car driver overreacting or exaggerating a perceived act on the road by another driver and then immediately deciding to express their anger in an overt threatening manner.
In other words, it's when a driver overacts to some perceived provocation by another driver on the road and then expresses their anger and frustration violently.
This expression of anger, of course, includes flipping off the driver while blowing their car horn aggressively, tailgating, yelling out the window, verbal insults, threats, hand gestures, and driving their car in a swerving reckless manner.
It's an extreme overreaction to intimidate another driver or to release frustration. In the most severe cases of road rage, some will even challenge the other driver to pull over on the side of the road and fight them.
Given the consistently high traffic volumes on California's roadways, it is little surprise that road rage is a point of growing concern.
As many as 80 percent of American drivers polled have admitted to some form of road rage, and California Highway Patrol data indicates that nearly two-thirds of fatal crashes may be linked to road rage.
Road rage incidents could lead to getting charged with a crime and a DMV driver's license suspension. However, not all road rage cases are the same and will always depend on the circumstances of the case.
California law doesn't expressly define "road rage" as a crime. Still, in itself, it frequently leads to other crimes being committed on the road—and the DMV is taking steps to deter drivers from succumbing to road rage.
Our Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys will take a more detailed look at the laws below.
Road Rage Defined
As noted above, road rage is a term used to describe aggressive or angry behavior by motorists in response to another motorist's driving.
Acts of road rage may include rude gestures, verbal insults, threatening actions, aggressive driving, vehicular assault, and in many cases, actual violence.
No physical contact needs to happen between the drivers involved for it to qualify as road rage, but rather only one driver showing some form of aggression towards another driver or pedestrians on the road.
Potential Charges in California Road Rage Incidents
As noted, California does not have a specific “road rage” statute. Thus, prosecutors will use related laws to charge somebody with road rage, such as the following:
- Penal Code 247b PC - shooting at an unoccupied vehicle,
- Penal Code 240 PC - simple assault,
- Penal Code 242 PC - battery,
- Penal Code 243(d) – aggravated battery,
- Penal Code 422 PC - criminal threats,
- Penal Code 245 PC – assault with a deadly weapon,
- Penal Code 417 PC – brandishing a weapon,
- Penal Code 664/187 – attempted murder,
- Penal Code 187 PC – murder,
- Penal Code 12022.53 PC – gun enhancement law,
- Vehicle Code 23103 VC - reckless driving,
- Vehicle Code 23152 VC – driving under the influence.
Vehicle Code 13210 (CVC): Suspension of License for Road Rage
Under California Vehicle Code 13210, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has the authority to suspend the driver's license of any motorist it deems to have engaged in road rage behaviors.
Specifically, the DMV may suspend the license for up to 6 months for a first offense and up to one year for subsequent road rage offenses. The DMV can issue the suspension in one of two ways:
- It may determine that the driver lacks the necessary skills to drive; or
- If the driver has accumulated enough points on their driving record through moving violations or criminal driving offenses, it may declare the driver to be a "negligent operator."
In certain situations, a driver facing license suspension for road rage may forego the suspension by completing a court-approved anger management or road rage educational course.
Criminal Offenses Related to Road Rage
As noted, road rage is not considered a crime by definition, but the actions that accompany road rage are often considered crimes under California law.
Some criminal charges that may stem from a road rage incident are listed below.
Reckless/Aggressive Driving (Vehicle Code 23103 VC): This charge is defined as driving with a "willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property" on the highway. It's a misdemeanor offense that may result in fines up to $1000 and up to 90 days in jail.
Assault and Battery (Penal Code 240/242 PC): Assault refers to threatening or attempting to use force on another person.
The battery is the actual use of force. These often occur and are charged together in road rage incidents, but even the threat of violence with no physical contact is considered a misdemeanor in California.
Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Penal Code 245 PC) In road rage incidents, assault with a deadly weapon usually happens in one of two ways (and sometimes together):
- When one driver uses an actual weapon (gun, knife, bat, etc.) to threaten or harm the other driver; or
- When one driver uses their vehicle as a "deadly weapon" by aggressively trying to (or succeeding at) hitting the other driver.
Whatever the case, assault with a deadly weapon may be charged either as a misdemeanor or felony. If it's the latter, the enraged driver may spend up to 4 years in prison upon conviction.
If you're charged with assault with a deadly weapon connected to a road rage case, that's a “strike” under California's three-strikes law. You're looking at prison.
They can use a gun enhancements law, such as Penal Code 12022.53 PC – California's “10-20-Life, use a gun and you're done” law.
Murder (Penal Code 187 PC): If an act of road rage leads to the death of another person, the driver could be charged with murder. This is a severe charge with a potential sentence of life in prison or even the death penalty.
This law requires malice aforethought, meaning the killer acted with a wanton disregard for human life or behavior that involved a high degree of probability it would result in someone's death.
Challenging a Road Rage License Suspension
If your driver's license was suspended due to a road rage incident, you might wish to challenge the suspension.
You can request a formal hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) by filing a California Driver's License Appeal.
The type of challenge depends on the grounds by which the DMV suspended your license:
- If your license was suspended due to a lack of skills, you could request an administrative hearing to prove you have the skills to drive;
- If you were declared a "negligent operator," you may request a negligent operator hearing to demonstrate why your license should not be suspended.
After the hearing, the hearing officer may make any of the following determinations:
- To uphold the suspension;
- To set aside the suspension;
- To place you on negligent operator probation, allowing you to drive but implementing the suspension on any future violations; or
- To place restrictions on your license.
What Are the Defenses?
The first step is to review all the details of what happened and give us your side of the story. We need to check exactly what prosecutors are charging you with.
In some cases, there is information that can be helpful to you, such as the other driver was driving very dangerous and could have caused a serious accident.
If there is solid evidence against you, we need to consider a mitigation package with character letters about you and your side of the story.
It might be possible to negotiate with the prosecutor for reduced charges or even a case dismissal.
Negotiating with law enforcement detectives and the prosecution could avoid the formal filing of criminal charges through prefiling intervention.
Eisner Gorin LLP is based in Los Angeles County, and we serve people throughout Southern California. You can reach us for an initial consultation at (877) 781-1570 or fill out our contact form.
If you have one phone call from jail, call us! If you are facing criminal charges,