Road Rage Spikes Across The Country, Pandemic Blamed
A new task force has been created in Houston to combat a more than 30% increase in road rage incidents this year. NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reports.
Houston has seen an overall increase in violent crime this year along with other cities in the nation. The main cause is believed to be stress related to the pandemic, but there have been no easy answers for why it has increased.
In addition to road rage, domestic violence and murder are also at high levels. Six of the 200 road rage incidents in Houston in the first 10 months of this year ended in a murder. The police plan to put more officers on the roadways to target aggressive driving, as well as work to seize vehicles in road rage incidents with a weapon involved.
Police also blamed drug and gang activity for the increase in violent crime, but crime experts state that the increase in violence has no easy solution. A study by the Council on Criminal Justice stated that the pandemic will need to be stopped before serious measures can be taken, as that is a confounding variable in people’s behaviour right now.
It’s safe to say that we’re under far more emotional stress than usual thanks to the pandemic. Now is the time for self-care and a little more patience on the roadways.
