Road rage has been elevated in Ohio for three years
AAA offers tips on how to deescalate situations
Road rage incidents in Ohio have remained elevated after a significant jump in 2021, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The latest in the Cincinnati area resulted in the death of Michael Sweeney, a prominent Greater Cincinnati businessman with four decades in the automobile sales industry. Police reported Saturday that they found a 70-year-old man wounded from a gunshot to the head on Saturday. His death was made public Thursday in a Hamilton County coroner’s list.
Ohio averaged 1,752 road rage incidents a year between 2018 and 2020. During the past two years, that number has jumped more than 16% to more than 2,030 incidents. And this year is also on pace to remain elevated.
The highway patrol was unable to provide statistics for Hamilton County at the time of this report, but reports that Warren County had the most road rage situations in the first three months of 2023, at 27. Butler and Warren counties were also among the six top counties in the state for road rage incidents.
Hamilton County was not in the top six. The list also included Montgomery, Medina and Stark counties.
How common are gunfire road rage incidents in Cincinnati?
At least five documented road rage cases that escalated to gunfire have occurred in the Cincinnati area since the beginning of 2022.
Here’s the list:
● Last January, Eric Duke was shot and killed in Colerain Township. Prosecutors
said he acted in self-defense when a man attacked him through the window of his vehicle after the pair engaged in a high-speed confrontation on the highway.
● Last May, a 17-year-old was driving on Interstate 75 in West Chester when his car was shot multiple times following a road rage incident.
● In June of 2022, a man fired into a vehicle on Ronald Reagan Highway in North College Hill nearly striking a child. The accused shooter, Grant Brown, pleaded guilty to felonious assault last week.
● And on Saturday, Sweeney was fatally shot on Interstate 75 in what police have called a “road rage incident.” The situation is still under investigation.
What the experts say
American Automobile Association, AAA, offers a number of tips for drivers to deescalate tense situations on the road, spokeswoman Kara Hitchens said:
● Do not engage with threatening drivers.
● Be forgiving of others on the road. ● Avoid eye contact with drivers that appear to be angry with you.
● The best tactic is usually to slow down and let the driver pass.