Vehicle Code § 13210 CVC – California Road Rage Laws

California Vehicle Code 13210 CVC allows the court to suspend your driver’s license for engaging in road rage behaviors. The law states that “the suspension period…[for] ‘road rage’ shall be six months for a first offense and one year for a second or subsequent offense.”

Road rage is when you show aggressive or angry behavior towards other drivers or pedestrians. This behavior can include giving rude gestures, verbal insults, and physical threats. It can also include driving dangerously towards another driver to intimidate them.

In addition to a license suspension, road rage can lead to the commission of serious crimes. Some examples are:

1. reckless driving, per Vehicle Code 23103 VC,
2. assault with a deadly weapon, per Penal Code 245a1 PC, and
3. murder, per Penal Code 187 PC.

Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following in this article:

• 1. Can the court suspend my driver’s license for road rage?
• 2. Can a 13210 CVC suspension be challenged?
• 3. Is road rage a criminal offense in California?
  • 3.1. Reckless driving – VC 23103
  • 3.2. Assault with a deadly weapon – PC 245a1
  • 3.3. Murder – PC 187
• Additional Reading

1. Can the court suspend my driver’s license for road rage?

The court can suspend your driver’s license for road rage, per 13210 CVC.

This suspension can be for:

• up to six months (for a first offense), or
• up to one year (for a second or subsequent offense).¹

2. Can a 13210 CVC suspension be challenged?

You can challenge a court’s decision to suspend your license for road rage through an appeal. Though these are rarely successful

3. Is road rage a criminal offense in California?

It can be. Depending on the facts of a case, road rage in California can lead to criminal charges for reckless driving (VC 23103), assault with a deadly weapon (PC 245a1), and even murder (PC 187).

3.1. Reckless driving – VC 23103

Vehicle Code 23103 VC is the California statute that defines the crime of reckless driving.

You commit this offense when you drive with a wanton disregard for:

• the safety of other people, or
• the safety of someone’s property.

Experiencing road rage and driving irrationally can equate to driving with wanton disregard for safety.

Reckless driving is a misdemeanor that carries up to 90 days in jail.

3.2. Assault with a deadly weapon – PC 245a1

Penal Code 245a1 PC is the California statute that defines “assault with a deadly weapon.”

This crime occurs whenever you attempt to:

• injure another person, and
• try to do this with either a deadly weapon or force likely to cause great bodily injury.

As to road rage, a California court has found that:

• a car can be a “deadly weapon,” when
• the vehicle is used in an attempt to run someone down.²

3.3. Murder – PC 187

Penal Code 187 PC is the California statute that defines the crime of “murder.”

This section makes it a crime to:

1. commit the unlawful killing of a human being, and
2. do so with malice aforethought.

“Malice aforethought” means you:

• act with wanton disregard for human life, or
• do an act that involves a high degree of probability that it will result in death.

There are road rage cases where you act with malice aforethought and end up killing someone.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Road rage: a psychiatric phenomenon? – Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
• Road Rage – The Journal for Justice Professionals.
• Driving Frequency and Its Impact on Road Rage Offending and Victimization: A View From Opportunity Theory – Violence and Victims.
• American Road Rage: A Scary and Tangled Cultural-Legal Pastiche – Nebraska Law Review.
• The “Homogamy” of Road Rage: Understanding the Relationship Between Victimization and Offending Among Aggressive and Violent Motorists – Violence and Victims.

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