Utah’s new road rage law goes into effect
Jul 1, 2024, 1:21 PM | Updated: 1:23 pm
TAYLORSVILLE — Starting Monday, Utah’s recently passed road rage law takes effect.
Utah is trailblazing as the first in the country to take this step to really focus and address road rage. It is a welcome law, especially for those like Kyle Rummens, who have received the scares of road rage.
“Pushed us about a hundred feet through the intersection,” Rummens said.
‘Chill out’: Utah drivers urged to avoid road rage as new law takes effect July 1
In mid-June, Rummens and his wife were in traffic on their way to a wedding when a truck hit their Telsa from behind and pushed them through a busy intersection in Lehi.
“Pretty quickly, it seemed apparent to me that what he was doing was intentional and that maybe he even wanted to harm us,” Rummens said.
With dashcam video in the rear-facing the other car, they were able to help identify the driver, who had taken off from the scene.
He hopes this new law will discourage people from driving aggressively.
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Utah Highway Patrol’s Sgt. Cameron Roden said the law can be broken down into four aspects, including an educational campaign and enhancement.
“So, if someone gets a Class B (misdemeanor) or higher; each penalty can be enhanced if you add the road rage. So, if it’s a Class B, it can be enhanced to a Class A all the way up to a felony,” Roden said.
Roden said the law also allows judges to act on someone’s driver’s license on a first offense if warranted.
Finally, a person’s car can be impounded if involved in road rage.
“We’re hoping that people take this new law seriously,” Roden said.
He said their DPS dispatch centers average over 20,000 aggressive driving calls every year.
Utah drivers to see enhanced penalties in July 1 road rage law, will it help?
