Texas recorded 604 road rage shootings between 2014 and 2024, the most of any state in the country, with 172 people killed. An analysis by The Trace also found the Houston area led all metro areas, accounting for 267 shootings and 76 deaths over that decade. The numbers put a national spotlight on something plenty of drivers already suspect: tempers on Texas highways are escalating.

The issue turned personal for many after Sept. 19, when a shooting in Cypress killed 5-year-old Zah’Layah Walton. Authorities say another driver fired into the car her mother, Monica Hicks, was driving. Jeremy Porter has been charged with capital murder. The case has renewed calls for tougher enforcement, and a 2025 Texas law now makes certain road rage shootings first-degree felonies punishable by up to life in prison. Harris County deputies are also using license plate readers to identify repeat problem areas.

Officials point to congested roads as a trigger, and congestion is exactly what Ellis County has been seeing as the DFW metroplex spreads south. Whether you’re on I-35 or cutting through downtown Waxahachie, the margin between a bad moment and a tragedy keeps getting thinner. What do you do when another driver sets you off? We want to hear how local drivers are handling it.