Report: Road rage shootings spike
States like Tennessee with weakest gun laws have worst numbers, experts say
He hates the term “road rage.” Jason Sparks, whose younger brother was shot to death during a traffic argument in Nashville in 2016, said if the term was “road murder” people might take it more seriously. “Road rage” seems so small and misguided, focusing on the anger inside the driver, rather than the violence that stems from it.
Chris Sparks was on his way home to walk his dog, a husky-mix named Dawson. On that drive, witnesses said Sparks exchanged words with another driver. Sparks’ red Honda Accord pulled alongside a silver Impala. The driver fired two shots into Sparks’ driver’s side door, then drove away, according to police.
The first hit him in the hand. The second went through his chest, killing him. Sparks was 36. His killer has never been identified.
Sparks was one of 77 people either injured or killed during road rage shootings in Tennessee between 2016 and 2021. Tennessee ranked second nationally in road rage shootings per 100,000 people (New Mexico was first), according to statistics published this month by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control advocacy group, using data from the independent Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit formed in 2013.
Across the nation, the problem seems to be getting worse. Nationally, annual injuries and deaths related to road rage shootings more than doubled between 2016 and 2021, according to that same report.
During the pandemic, traffic fatalities surged, likely due to more aggressive driving. At the same time, national background checks for gun purchases jumped 40 percent between 2019 and 2020, and stayed high through 2021. In Tennessee, those background checks rose by more than 50 percent between 2019 and 2020.
“The gun is the problem,” Jason Sparks said. “And it’s only going to get worse.”
Tennessee ranks higher in road rage shooting injuries and deaths than in fatal shootings more generally. For example, Tennessee ranked between 10th and 14th in annual fatal shootings between 2016 and 2020, the last year for which data was available. But Tennessee ranked third in fatal road rage shootings overall between 2016 and 2021.
The data isn’t perfect, as there is no central repository for information on road rage shootings nationally, and crime statistics don’t include a distinct category for road rage shootings. The Gun Violence Archive compiled the data using law enforcement, government and media reports.
But lax gun laws are the primary difference between states at the top and the bottom of the list for road rage shootings, said Sarah Burd-Sharps, senior director of research at Everytown.
Last year, Tennessee legalized the carrying of hand guns without a permit for most adults over the objection of law enforcement groups.
In 2013, state lawmakers approved what was called the “guns in trunks” law, making it legal for valid permit holders to keep handguns in vehicles parked in public and private employerowned parking lots.
Then in 2014, lawmakers passed a law allowing legal gun owners to keep loaded handguns, shotguns and rifles in their cars without a state handgun carry permit.
“States with stronger laws have lower rates of road rage with a gun and also lower a proportion of those incidents ended in a shooting or somebody injured or killed,” Burd-Sharps said.
Everytown tallied 200 Tennessee road rage shooting incidents, which resulted in 101 people injured or killed between 2016 and 2021. By comparison, Massachusetts, which has a slightly larger population and stricter gun laws, had just 14 injuries and deaths over that same period.
Metro Nashville Police Department doesn’t keep data on road rage shootings specifically, but some department data indicates an upward trend in incidents. The number of times “road rage” appeared in reports detailing aggravated assault charges involving a firearm rose from 20 in 2016 to 71 in 2021, according to data provided by spokesperson Don Aaron.
But that data is incomplete. It showed only three homicides in 2016 to 2021, and none in 2016. But there were at least two: Sparks and another man who was also shot after arguing with another driver the same day.
Chris Sparks had a big personality, and a big mouth that occasionally got him in trouble, Jason Sparks said.
When he lived in Chicago, Chris was a member of the renowned Second City comedy troupe. He also worked as a chef with a flair for French cuisine.
He moved to Nashville about a year before he died.
Jason Sparks said his brother had received a parking ticket and was forced to attend traffic school. After that, he was vigilant about observing the rules of the road.
“Chris got concerned about everyone’s safety,” Sparks said. “He would honk or say ‘slow down’ to people who were going too fast. And he was devastating when it came to wit.”
Witnesses told police the silver Impala was driving aggressively, Chris said something, an argument ensued and shots were fired.
Despite the police circulating pictures of the car, the driver was never identified.
There is no simple personality type or variable that predicts whether someone is capable of unleashing violence over a traffic dispute.
But researchers say there are several risk factors. Being a young man is one of them. Stress is another. And having a gun in the car can increase the likelihood of aggressive driving, research has shown.
In 2005, Harvard researchers found drivers with guns in their cars were more likely to be aggressive or rude drivers.
“One would hope that those people with firearms in their vehicles would be among the most self-controlled and law-abiding members of society,” the authors wrote.
But that is not what they found. “The evidence indicates that those with guns in the vehicle are more likely to engage in ‘road rage,’ ” they concluded.