Law against road rage comes into force in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — A law that provides for tougher penalties for road rage has now gone into effect in Utah. The bill was signed by Governor Spencer Cox earlier this year after it passed the state legislature. The law went into effect on July 1.

This year, several communities across the state have been rocked by deadly road rage incidents, with one particularly gruesome incident resulting in the death of Michael Brown, a father whose children witnessed the entire altercation.

According to the Utah Department of Transportation, the number of deaths from aggressive driving has increased massively in recent years. The number of deaths from aggressive driving, which includes road rage, remained consistently low from 2015 to 2019, with the highest number reported at 19 in 2016. Since 2020, the annual number of aggressive driving deaths has not dropped below 25. These deaths peaked in 2022 with a total of 31 deaths.

Following a series of deaths and road rage attacks earlier this year, many called for change.

The new law allows officers to increase the severity of a charge if it is determined that road aggression was a contributing factor to the incident. For example, a Class B misdemeanor could be “enhanced” to a Class A misdemeanor if road aggression is involved.

The law also triggered an educational campaign with videos about the consequences of aggression in traffic.

In addition, a judge may revoke a driver’s license for a first offense of road aggression if he or she deems it necessary.

Finally, the law provides that vehicles can be confiscated following an infringement.

Legislators hope that increasing penalties for aggression in traffic will curb aggression in two ways.

First, knowledge of higher penalties could deter drivers from aggressive behavior.

Secondly, those who continue to display their aggression on the road can be removed from the streets by having their cars confiscated and their driving licenses revoked.

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