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Road rage incidents can cost big bucks for cities and commerce

D.C. traffic
Posted at 9:18 PM, Apr 18, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-19 11:37:51-04

As police warn of the senseless consequences of road rage, there is a list of measurable consequences as well.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin for example, police there have warned that road rage has led to more gun violence. In this year alone the police department there said that 11 road rage incidents have led to non-fatal shootings. That's just one more than the same time last year.

Road rage is aggressive driving that involves cutting off cars and other irresponsible driving behaviors like driving fast.

Road rage incidents can cause roadways and expressways to be shut down to deal with the scene, and that can be costly. It's not just an inconvenience for commuters or truckers trying to get goods in and out of a city to various locations.

The Sheriff's office, which is often in charge of policing roadways, says that in Milwaukee alone they've already responded to 350 roadway incidents this year alone. In 2021, there were 1300 road rage incidents for the whole year.

Milwaukee Chief Deputy Denita Ball said that it comes at a high monetary cost for the city. Ball said, "Every time we shut down the expressway it's about, for commerce, it's about $140,000 dollars each hour."

She said that is "for commerce, you have the semi's going to and fro, taking their goods and services, so yes the state did an estimate and it's about $140,000 dollars."

Experts say if you're in a road rage incident, try and slow down to let the other driver pass. If the other driver is following you, pull off to the side of the road and call 911.