Road rage calls to Colorado State Patrol hit a high in 2022
Colorado State Patrol says it responded to more than 31,000 calls of road rage in 2022.
According to a CSP news release, the 31,760 aggressive driving calls the agency responded to in 2022 represent a 4.5% increase compared to 2021. Aggressive driving can look like tailgating, cutting someone off, flashing a weapon, or escalating the confrontation by getting out of the car.
Such statistics seem far from Morgan County or the worries of its residents but an incident on Aug. 21 illustrated otherwise.
According to an Aug. 23 Fort Morgan Times article, “Joshua Buck, 35, and Trevor Snider, 26, exchanged obscene gestures in traffic on West Platte Avenue related to a traffic violation that had occurred moments earlier.”
Fort Morgan Police Chief Loren Sharp said that it was believed the Buck left a carwash at Barlow road and East Platte Avenue and pulled into the road, inadvertently cutting off Snider in westbound traffic. A police investigation found Snider may have retaliated by tailgating Buck, and offering obscene gestures as he passed in traffic.
The incident quickly escalated when, “Snider brandished a firearm, pointing it at the occupant of the other vehicle,” Sharp said.
There was no discharge of the weapon, however, as Snider was charged with felony menacing and held without bond once police arrived. According to the same Times article, “Buck was charged with careless driving and released on summons, stemming from the initial traffic violation.”
Encounters such as the incident on Aug. 21 have increased in recent years in Fort Morgan and statewide, Sharp commented about the incident.
“If someone cuts you off, tailgates, or makes a rude gesture, you may be tempted to get even but just don’t,” Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew Packard stated in the release. “No one ever thinks anger will turn to violence, but it can and it does.”
In 2022, there were more calls for aggressive driving than impaired driving, which was up 7% in 2022, Colorado State Patrol stated in the news release.
In December, a 58-yearold woman was shot in a road rage incident in Wheat Ridge. In November, a man was arrested after his passenger began shooting at an off-duty officer. The passenger later died by suicide. Interstate 225 was closed for over an hour in October due to a road rage incident.
“Your best response is to keep your composure, let the aggressive driver move on, and do not engage. It’s simply not worth your energy or the risk,” Packard stated in the release.
Drivers who encounter an aggressive motorist on the road can call CSP’s “real-time” aggressive driving hotline, which was started in 1998, by dialing 277. The hotline allows Coloradans to report an aggressive driver without using the emergency line.
If a road rage incident turns violent, motorists should call 911.