SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — With road rage becoming a growing concern for law enforcement in Utah, the state legislature is taking a look at a bill to help put the brakes on aggressive drivers.

H.B. 30, chiefly sponsored by Rep. Paul Cutler, aims to keep Utahns safe on the roads by introducing harsher punishments for aggressive drivers.

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Cutler said the bill increases the penalty for aggressive drivers for those doing it with the intent to escalate a situation or to intimidate another individual in another vehicle.

If you’re violating a traffic law, swerving, or following too closely to someone to be intimidating, under the enhanced road rage penalty, that would add another $500 to your traffic ticket.

The state would then use that money to help reduce road rage incidents.

“It takes money from any increase in fines and puts that toward a road rage education fund that the Department of Public Safety has already started, using donations. So, we can get the word out about how to keep you and your family safe on our highways,” Cutler said.

Getting the word out is a goal for the Beehive State in 2024.

The Utah Department of Public Safety and the Utah Department of Transportation are launching a campaign to prevent road rage.

“We have seen a significant aggression in this area, and particularly in the severity of road rage, an increase of the use of weapons of actual shots fired to vehicle colliding with each other,” Jess Anderson, a commissioner with the Utah Department of Public Safety said.

On Saturday, a road rage incident involving a gun temporarily closed down part of Legacy Parkway.

One of the two vehicles was shot, and Utah Highway Patrol said they are still looking for the suspect.

“Aggressive driving, reckless driving, and road rage: these all start with single actions that are 100% avoidable,” Utah Highway Patrol Officer Michael Rapich said.

According to Utah fatalites data, 23 people died on Utah roadways last year due to aggressive-related incidents, including reckless driving and road rage.

Cutler said H.B. 30 will give law enforcement more resources to make a difference.

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