Nearly everyone has had at least one bout of road rage, no matter how small it was. It happens. The road rage most of us experience is a quick onset of anger, followed by some choice swearing, and then maybe a hand gesture of the crude variety. I try to keep my road raging to the first two things--then forget about the incident entirely.

Others among us have a far more difficult time in getting control of themselves when road rage begins, and that's when violence happens. In Illinois, that violence is increasingly coming in the form of gunfire from one vehicle to another.

Stressed male driver yelling and holding a gun.
Sure, acting like this will make everything better. (Getty Images)
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This Kind Of Road Rage Behavior Has Prompted The Illinois State Police To Issue A Warning About Gunfire Becoming An Increasing Road Rage Trend In Illinois

Regarding recent exchanges of gunfire on Chicago's expressways, the Illinois State Police (ISP) says that while the overall number of shootings on the expressways has gone down since 2021, victims are increasingly reporting road rage as the reason behind expressway shootings.

In 2022, road rage was reported in approximately 40% of Chicago area expressway shootings handled by ISP. This is up from 12% in 2021. Already in 2023, road rage has been reported in at least nine Chicago area expressway shootings. This is in addition to other types of road rage-associated violence like crashes and physical fights.

Angry Middle Eastern man Attacking Another Driver Sitting In Car
Are you really in a hurry to get somewhere if you stop and take the time to punch someone? (Getty Images)
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Obviously, Road Rage And Road Rage Shootings Are Not Just An Illinois Thing

I don't have any numbers about road rage in other countries, but it's pretty clear that here in Illinois and across the country, we've got some very angry people behind the wheel.

TheZebra.com, in a piece from January of this year, has some national numbers on road rage that show us getting angrier when we travel from point-a to point-b:

    • 500% increase in reported cases of road rage over the last 10 years
    • 37% of aggressive driving incidents involve a firearm
    • A total of 12,610 injuries and 218 murders have been attributed to road rage over a seven-year period in the United States
    • Road rage has been responsible for about 300 deaths since 2013
    • Over a seven-year time period, more than 200 murders and 12,000 injuries were attributed to road rage

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