Drivers in the Kansas City, Missouri, area may encounter others who are quite aggressive in traffic. Some drivers lose their cool on busy roads, such as I-70. They may try to run others off the road, conduct unsafe “brake checks” after cutting people off in traffic or may even instigate physical confrontations over behavior in traffic.
Individuals who fear for their safety may need to defend themselves against threats of violence while in traffic on I-70 or other busy roads in the Kansas City area. They may also need to defend against violence initiated by drivers who followed them to their destinations.
Do those who fight back against aggressive behavior on the part of road-raging motorists need to worry about facing aggravated assault charges or similar criminal allegations?
Missouri has strong self-defense laws
In some states, the right to self-defense is subject to serious limitations. Many jurisdictions impose a duty to retreat before using physical force for the purpose of self-defense. That is not the case in Missouri.
Missouri has a stand-your-ground law. People who have a reasonable fear for their safety due to the threats or conduct of another person do not have an obligation to leave the situation before using force to defend themselves. In a road rage incident where one driver has forced another motorist off the road or followed them to their destination, the person targeted by the road rage driver may have certain rights under the law.
They can theoretically use physical force to defend themselves without trying to leave the situation first. Historically, the state has declined to prosecute individuals accused of violent crimes after road rage incidents. Provided that the person acting in self-defense did not initiate the confrontation and that other reasonable adults may also fear for their safety in the same situation, the person accused of a violent offense may have grounds for a credible self-defense claim.
Reviewing a road rage incident and pending assault charges that followed the incident with a skilled legal team can help people understand and effectively assert their right to defend themselves against the violence of others. In some cases, those accused of violent crimes merely acted to protect themselves and can avoid a criminal conviction with the right defense strategy in court.