Possible Charges in California Road Rage Incidents
Road rage, a term used to describe an individual's extreme reaction to a perceived act on the road, can quickly escalate into a violent or threatening situation. This can include actions such as flipping off the driver, constant horn blowing, shouting obscenities, tailgating, making threats, and driving recklessly. These behaviors, if not controlled, can lead to serious legal consequences.
In most cases, road rage is an extreme overreaction to intimidate the other driver or vent frustration. Some will invite the other driver to pull over and fight on the street in the most severe cases.
In California, road rage incidents can get charged with a crime and a DMV driver's license suspension. Not all road rage cases are the same, and they will depend on the facts and circumstances of the case. While there is not a specific California “road rage” statute, prosecutors will use related laws to charge someone, such as:
- Penal Code 240 PC – simple assault,
- Penal Code 242 PC – battery,
- Penal Code 422 PC – criminal threats,
- Vehicle Code 23103 VC – reckless driving.
California Vehicle Code 13210 VC allows the DMV to suspend a driver's license for engaging in road rage behaviors for six months for a first offense and one year for subsequent offenses. Our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers will closely review the laws below to understand better.
Depending on precisely what happened in the road rage incident, there is a wide range of options for prosecutors to charge the aggressor with a crime, such as:
- Vehicle Code 23103 VC – reckless driving,
- Vehicle Code 23152 VC – driving under the influence,
- Penal Code 240 PC – simple misdemeanor assault,
- Penal Code 242 PC – battery,
- Penal Code 243(d) – aggravated battery,
- Penal Code 245(a)(1) – assault with a deadly weapon,
- Penal Code 417 PC – brandishing a weapon,
- Penal Code 664/187 – attempted murder,
- Penal Code 187 PC – murder.
What are Prosecutors Doing to People Involved in Road Rage Incidents?
Road rage now, especially as we're coming out of the pandemic and more people are on the road, is rampant:
- people are firing weapons;
- they're crashing into peoples' cars;
- they're cutting the person off;
- they're involved in hit-and-run accidents.
When you think about what the police, prosecutors, and judges are doing, I can tell you right now that I've handled a lot of these cases recently. Of course, over the last thirty years, they have been punishing people very severely.
Law enforcement and the judicial system take road rage incidents very seriously. Perpetrators can face severe consequences, including imprisonment and loss of their driver's license. The authorities are committed to ensuring the safety of all road users and will not tolerate actions that put lives at risk.
Review of the Road Rage Details
So, if you or a loved one is charged with a road rage-related incident, one of the big things you want to look at is:
- what exactly did you do?
- was anybody hurt?
- was there any accident?
Suppose there wasn't anybody hurt, and there was no accident, and it was just some sort of yelling or reckless driving. In that case, you're in a much better position than somebody who, on the other hand, got involved in some violent confrontation. Right now, there's a lot of video evidence going around in these road rage cases, and the police are arresting people left and right for road rage-related incidents in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.
Review of Best Strategy to Fight the Case
The first thing you should do is find out if you or a loved one is charged in one of these incidences in LA County, any of the other Valley courts, or anywhere else in the 38 courts.
I've been to all of the courts. I know Los Angeles County and the San Fernando Valley very well because my office in Encino handles many cases that get charged in Van Nuys and San Fernando. You'll want to sit down with somebody like me, give me your side of the story, and let me know what happened in the road rage incident.
Sometimes, the police and prosecutors need to have the correct, accurate information. Sometimes, there's information out there that can be helpful to you:
- maybe the other driver was doing illegal things;
- maybe the other driver was doing dangerous things and
- maybe the other driver even caused the accident.
But many times, they don't know that because sometimes people become involved in these road rage incidents. There'll be an accident, for example, and what will end up happening is that the person will leave the scene, the other party will call the police, and now they're the only one left to tell the story, and you don't get to tell your story.
Seeking Best Possible Outcome on Road Rage Case
If you find yourself in a road rage-related incident, it's crucial to seek legal help immediately. Your attorney can effectively present your side of the story, ensuring that your voice is heard and your rights are protected. Remember, you're not alone in this, and your attorney is there to guide you through the legal process.
Let's talk about what honestly happened so I can figure out the best course of action. I've been doing this for a long time. I know how to deal with these cases, whether it's road rage or a hit-and-run case—it doesn't matter.
What matters is that your case is handled the right way, that your story is told, and that we've put together a mitigation package. A mitigation package is a collection of evidence and information that presents your case in the best possible light.
If they have evidence that you were involved—which they don't always—then we've got to put together a package that shows the other side of the story and also shows who you are as a person—your job, your family, your interests, your driving record.
Because a lot of times what they're going to do in these cases where people are involved in some road rage activity is, they're going to try to take your driver's license away, and they'll try to take it away for a long time. So, we must sit down, get your story out there, and get a game plan together on exactly how we're going to handle it. Whether we're going to try to fight the case and show you're not guilty or whether we're going to try to mitigate the case.
This means putting together a mitigation package, keeping you out of jail, and doing everything possible to save your rights, freedom, and reputation. Hedding Law Firm is located in Los Angeles County, and we offer a free case evaluation.
Related:
