This browser does not support the Video element.
Driver points gun at motorcyclist in road rage incident
See the moment a driver got out of his SUV at a busy intersection and pointed a gun at a motorcyclist before police intervened.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Police in Virginia said no arrests were made after video showed a man pull a gun on another motorist at a busy intersection.
Video from Nick W. shows a motorcyclist standing near the man’s SUV and arguing with him as the SUV driver holds a gun. From there, the motorcyclist gets back on his bike, then gets off again and starts to dig for something in his storage compartment. That’s when the SUV driver gets out and points the gun at the motorcyclist.
Police intervened from across the street before the situation escalated further, forcing the SUV driver onto the ground and placing him in handcuffs.
WATCH: Dashcam footage reveals 'road rage' clash between UK drivers
The Virginia Beach Police Department told Storyful both men were detained and later released. No charges were filed.
Forbes Advisor ranked Virginia as among the top states in the nation for confrontational drivers, with 50.5% of drivers surveyed reporting that another driver has exited their vehicle to yell at or fight with them. Almost 90% of people surveyed said they've been cursed at, threatened or insulted by another driver in Virginia.
Road rage violence is on the rise across the United States: the number of people injured in road rage shootings increased 135% from 2018 to 2022, Axios reports. Psychologists point to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic as one reason for the upward shift. Although the pandemic is no longer a public health emergency, experts say the bad behavior it spawned may linger.
"The pandemic really did change us very inherently because, for the first time in anyone's lifetime, it was like every man for himself," Neuropsychologist Sanam Hafeez told Axios.