SANDY, Utah — A Sandy man is proposing a new approach to tackling road rage after years of witnessing what he describes as increasingly dangerous driving behavior on the state's roads.
Justin Gilbert, who has lived in Utah his entire life, said the problem has grown worse in recent years and that current penalties are not enough. He said past road rage encounters had left him distraught and anxious, and that it sometimes took a long time to cool down.
"The problem has increased. We need more intervention," Gilbert said. "Hold these offenders accountable for their dangerous actions on the road," he said.
Gilbert is proposing a Reckless Driving and Road Rage Intervention Court Diversion Program, focused specifically on incidents where firearms or dangerous weapons are used during road rage incidents. The program would require offenders who brandish weapons to complete 12 hours of courses covering de-escalation and emotional regulation tactics.
"It's cognitive behavioral therapy, they need gun and traffic safety awareness and we just want to hold them accountable," Gilbert said.
Utah Rep. Paul Cutler (R-Centerville) helped pass road rage amendments to driving laws during the 2024 legislative session aimed at addressing the same problem. The amendments allow prosecutors to enhance charges by one level — for example, from a misdemeanor B to a misdemeanor A, or from a misdemeanor to a felony — adding jail time or fines to existing charges.
"Whether it's reckless driving or another traffic violation, the road rage penalty allows the prosecutor to say, 'OK, I'm going to enhance this one level, maybe from a misdemeanor to a misdemeanor A to a felony or from a misdemeanor B to a misdemeanor A.' So it can just tack on some additional jail time or additional fines," Cutler said.
Despite those changes, road rage crashes have continued to climb. According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, there were 717 road rage crashes in 2024 and 729 in 2025.
"Unfortunately, we have seen the number of cases continue to increase," said Cutler. "We were hoping that they would decrease."
Cutler believes a one-size-fits-all approach does not always work, which is why judges have the discretion to determine consequences on a case-by-case basis.
"We ask them to pay for their crimes with jail times and fines, but there are opportunities for judges to say it would be better for you to take some correction. You need some training. I can see a pattern of angry behavior or a pattern of losing control in your life, rather than just jail time or just a fine," he said.
Cutler said the state is also investing in prevention.
"We're putting more and more money into prevention programs, and we want people not to engage when someone tries to escalate a situation," Cutler said.
Gilbert offered his own advice for drivers who find themselves in a tense situation on the road.
"Turn on music, listen to a podcast, pull over for a few moments, give yourself the appropriate time to cool down," he said, "keep yourself and everybody else safe."
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DRIVEN TO CHANGE
