Why Is Road Rage Becoming Such A Growing Trend In Colorado?

We've all experienced it one time or another.

Whether you've been the culprit or the victim - you've experienced road rage. 

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Road Rage, by definition, is violent anger caused by the stress and frustration involved in driving a motor vehicle in difficult conditions... 

... "difficult" conditions, which are oftentimes just instances of impatience and/or negligence.

Road Rage Is Growing Among Colorado Drivers

Colorado State Patrol reports about 80,000 calls a year for aggressive driving - and road rage incidents are only continuing to grow across the state.

“In Colorado, every year since 2017 has been the deadliest year on our roadways since 2002,” Skyler McKinley, a AAA Colorado representative told KDVR. 

What factors impact these trends? 

While economics, politics, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have all played a role - to some degree - in the uptick in aggressive driving trends across the state, road rage is a key factor to consider when looking at the growing rate of danger on our roadways.

“The vast majority of those don’t result in violence,” McKinley told KDVR. However, about 730 road rage incidents reportedly involved a gun last year in the U.S.

“Generally speaking, road rage is a factor in about half of all fatalities,” McKinley said.

AAA Colorado also says that driving levels are moving back to where they were pre-pandemic, as drivers are now logging the same number of miles now as they did back in 2019.

At the same time, fatalities across Colorado roadways jumped 15% since then, according to McKinley.

“All of these economic underpinnings tend to have some root in, at least, in violent behavior, which is what we see in our roadways,”

How To Protect Yourself On Colorado Roadways

The reality is, we'll all probably encounter an aggressive driver at some point or another - that aggressive driver might even be you.

Whether you are the culprit or have fallen victim to aggressive driving, there are ways to actively protect yourself on the road.

“A little extra caution, a little extra courtesy, abiding by speed limits can help protect you a little bit."