Over the past decade, Colorado has seen a 500 percent increase in the number of auto accident deaths involving road range.
Colorado Is One of the States Where the Problem Is Worst
The Weather Channel has predicted a heatwave for much of the country, claiming that, “Temperatures will be the most above average from the northern Rockies into the Central Plains.”
And high temperatures tend to mean more road rage. Of course, road rage is a year-round problem. But people tend to get hotter under the collar when the weather gets hotter.
Thousands Reporting Road Rage in Colorado
This June in Denver, a driver on I-76 shot at another driver. That’s road rage: aggressive or violent behavior manifesting uncontrollable anger. Examples include ramming one’s vehicle into another vehicle, running someone off the road, hopping out of the car to confront another driver, and pulling a weapon on another driver. Road rage is the most severe and violent form of aggressive driving.
Every year, Colorado State Police receive tens of thousands of calls reporting road rage. Although the classification may not be apt in every case — “The majority of them will not result in crashes, fortunately,” says State Trooper Josh Lewis — often enough, tensions escalate quickly.
Many factors are relevant. Summer tends to mean that more people are on the road traveling, which aggravates congestion. Unusually long delays or traffic jams can create or exacerbate stress. Although most cars have air conditioning, researchers report a direct link between hot weather and aggressive behavior; the higher the temperature gets, the more aggressive some drivers get.
In Colorado, road rage fatalities have increased almost 500 percent over the last decade. The Auto Insurance Center found that in 2016, Colorado was one of the states where “aggressive driving represent the greatest threat relative to overall rates of deadly accidents.”
Indiana earned the undesirable top spot in this category, followed closely by Colorado. South Carolina and Alabama claimed the third and fourth spots respectively, with Connecticut rounding out the top five.
Fifty-three Colorado auto accidents or 9.5% of all fatal accidents involved road rage.
The Center observes that “July and September were the top months for deadly aggressive driving crashes,” with 22.3% of all driving accidents involving road rage taking place during just those two months. “By contrast, rates of aggressive driving accidents were notably low in November, December, and January.”
Aggressively report aggressive drivers to help prevent auto accidents.
If you see an aggressive driver in Colorado, the number to dial to report it to the police is CSP (277). Try to provide the license plate number and to describe the car and the behavior of the driver.
And that’s it. Steer clear of the driver. Don’t confront him. Don’t even make eye contact or give any indication that you disapprove of his behavior; doing so may only further infuriate.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident involving an aggressive driver, contact personal injury attorney Dan Rosen at (303) 454-8000 or (800) ROSEN-911 to schedule your free initial consultation to discuss the details of your case.