Reporter Amy Cutler from Arizona’s Family says what many drivers already feel in their gut: tempers on Arizona’s roads are getting worse, and the numbers now prove it.
In her investigation for 3TV / CBS 5, Cutler reports that road rage crashes in Arizona have doubled between 2020 and 2024.
What used to be about 500 crashes a year is now more than 1,000.
The number of people killed has doubled too, from three to six.
Those may sound like small numbers on paper.
But when you watch the videos and hear the families, it stops being statistics and starts feeling like a warning.
Crashes Double In Just Four Years
Cutler explains that state data show a clear trend: more crashes, more confrontations, more people dead.
From 2020 to 2024, road rage crashes in Arizona climbed from about 500 per year to over 1,000.
That’s not just a slight uptick.
That’s a full doubling in four years.
The number of people killed in these incidents also doubled from three to six annually, according to Cutler’s reporting.
On top of that, she points out something else that changed during those same years: less traffic enforcement.
Cutler reports that the Phoenix Police Department’s traffic unit has dropped from about 200 officers to roughly 30.
That’s a massive reduction in the officers who are supposed to enforce speeding, reckless driving, and other dangerous behavior before it turns into violence.
“It’s Not In Their Mind Anymore”
To understand why this is happening, Cutler turned to Jesse Torrez, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
Torrez tells her he sees several factors behind the spike: impatience, speeding, and the lack of law enforcement presence.
“All over the state traffic enforcement has decreased in its priorities with agencies,” Torrez says.
When Cutler asks if that sends the wrong message, Torrez doesn’t sugarcoat it.
He says drivers start to believe there’s little chance of any consequence for bad decisions – whether it’s DUI, speeding, or aggressive behavior behind the wheel.
In other words, if people think no one is watching, they’re more likely to push limits.
And when you pair that with stress, guns, and ego, you get exactly the kind of violent encounters Cutler’s story highlights.
A Deadly Shooting Caught On A Child’s Phone
Cutler centers much of her report on one heartbreaking case: the July road rage shooting that killed Steven Bevan in Tempe.
She explains that Bevan was driving near Priest Drive and Warner Road with his two sons in the backseat.
Cellphone video, recorded by one of the boys, shows Bevan abruptly stopping, getting out of the car, and yelling at another driver.
Seconds later, the truck door swings open.
A gunshot rings out.
Bevan turns and manages to walk back toward his car, collapsing right next to the passenger window.
His sons are still in the backseat, watching their father fall.
On the recording, you hear the boys shouting and trying to get to him as a bystander ushers them back into the car.
Cutler reports that Bevan died later at the hospital.
Police say the other driver also had his young daughter with him in the truck.
Bevan’s mother, Anabel Bevan, tells Cutler she still can’t wrap her head around how a small dispute on the road turned into a killing.
“How could someone get shot over a road rage incident?” she asks. “I just couldn’t understand how that could happen.”
It’s a question anyone who’s ever felt tempted to “teach another driver a lesson” should have in their mind the next time anger flares.
Self-Defense Laws Complicate Justice
What makes Steven Bevan’s case even more controversial is what happened afterward.
Cutler reports that the other driver told authorities the shooting was self-defense.
Tempe police noted in their report that Bevan was 5-foot-7 and 190 pounds, while the other driver was 6-foot-8 and 300 pounds.
Even with that size difference, the shooter claimed he feared for his life.
Cutler speaks with Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who explains why these cases are so hard to prosecute under Arizona’s self-defense laws.
Mitchell says that once the defense raises self-defense, the burden shifts to prosecutors to disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Her office did pursue charges against the driver, but a grand jury declined to indict.
Cutler notes that previously unseen video from a Valley Metro bus camera showed Bevan’s car swerving out of its lane and later cutting off the other driver.
Mitchell tells Cutler those videos may have influenced the grand jury, because they showed how the eventual victim “was engaging” in the confrontation.
From a legal standpoint, that may explain the outcome.
From a human standpoint, especially for Bevan’s family, it feels like something else: a message that if a disagreement turns violent, the person with the gun and the better legal claim walks away.
Another Family, Another Loss
Cutler’s report makes it clear that Bevan’s case isn’t the only tragedy tied to road rage in Arizona.
She also speaks with Dharquintium Brown, who describes a shooting outside his South Phoenix home that took place six years earlier.
Brown tells Cutler he didn’t even realize another driver was angry until that man followed him home.
“He decided to pull up to my curb and I get out of my car and he starts shooting,” Brown says.
Brown says when he dove to the ground, the shooter’s bullets hit him and then went through the car, killing his 10-year-old daughter, Summerbell.
Summerbell’s mother, Tanisha, remembers her daughter as artistic, funny, and amazing.
Brown was unarmed.
In that case, Cutler reports, the alleged shooter Joshua Gonzalez has been charged with murder and aggravated assault.
The Browns tell Cutler they still see drivers losing their temper all the time.
Tanisha says she has even honked at people to remind them, “It’s not worth it.”
Their story underlines something simple but powerful: road rage doesn’t just hurt the people in the argument.
It can destroy whole families in a matter of seconds.
Less Enforcement, More Confrontation
Cutler ties these personal stories back to bigger trends.
She cites a Forbes Advisor report that found Arizona has the most confrontational drivers in the country, with more than 80% of drivers saying they’ve been yelled at, cursed at, insulted, or threatened on the road.
That lines up with what Torrez told her about impatience, speeding, and the sense that no one is enforcing the rules anymore.
When drivers believe there’s a low chance of getting a ticket, it’s easier to tailgate, brake-check, or cut someone off without thinking about the potential fallout.
But as Cutler’s examples show, this isn’t just about rude gestures or honking.
It’s now about guns, funerals, and kids watching their parents get shot in front of them.
From a policy standpoint, the drop in traffic officers that Cutler highlights is hard to ignore.
If Phoenix PD’s traffic unit really went from about 200 officers to 30, that’s not a small adjustment.
That’s a completely different level of visibility on the roads.
You can debate budget priorities, but pretending that has no effect on behavior doesn’t match what drivers themselves are seeing.
“Do Not Engage”: What Police Say Drivers Should Do
After walking viewers through the numbers and the heartbreak, Cutler turns to the most practical question: What are you supposed to do if someone targets you in road rage?
She says she asked police exactly that.
Their answer, as Cutler reports, is direct: do not engage.
Officers advise drivers to:
- Pull over to the right if possible
- Let the aggressive driver go around you
- Avoid making eye contact, yelling, or getting out of the car
There is no minor point or petty victory worth what happened to Steven Bevan or the Browns’ daughter.
Cutler also notes that these situations can escalate in just seconds.
In the Tempe case, she says, it took only about four seconds from the time Bevan stepped out of his vehicle to the moment he was shot.
Four seconds is less time than it takes to send a text.
That’s how quickly a bad decision – on either side – can turn irreversible.
A Hard Lesson Arizona Can’t Ignore
Amy Cutler’s reporting paints a picture that’s hard to dismiss.
Road rage crashes and deaths are up sharply.
Traffic enforcement is down.
Self-defense laws make prosecutions complicated.
And families like the Bevans and the Browns are left grieving loved ones who never made it home.
There’s plenty of blame to go around – culture, policy, law, even social media stress.
But one thing is clear from Cutler’s story and from the people she interviewed:
No commute, no insult, and no moment of anger is worth your life or someone else’s.
Arizona’s roads are telling that story over and over. The question now is whether drivers – and lawmakers – are going to listen.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
