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Nadine Wimmer ReportingAn angry driver braked hard to teach another driver a lesson, and ended up in a crash. It's just the latest example of how drivers are losing control and losing respect for anyone around them.
Police logs reveal many serious, recent cases of road rage.
This is probably the number one trigger-- headlights just feet or even inches from your bumper. We see, and maybe do it, every day. And more frequently, acts like these carry serious consequences.
"911. What's your emergency?" "I was just hit by a car."
"The guy behind me started screaming at me."
"When I took the detour, that's when I realized he was following me."
What starts behind the wheel is increasingly ending behind bars.
Aggravated assault with a screwdriver after someone honked at him. Road Rage for throwing a drink through a driver's window.
But perhaps the most outrageous recent case...
"911. What's your emergency?"
"I accidentally cut off a car on the freeway and he's following me home."
The driver followed her home and hit her husband who'd come out to the driveway.
"He swerves at me and speeds up, and I said, 'Oh my gosh, this is it.'"
Richard Cromar/ Road Rage Victim: "I rolled over the hood and landed on my feet, like something you'd see in the movies."
Police tracked down the driver. Glenda Nored was booked for road rage and assault.
Highway Patrol stats show road rage cases in Salt Lake and Utah Counties have steadily increased-- 12,600 last year, up about 12-percent from the year before.
There are no stats for some of the trends these troopers observe everyday.
Who are the worst offenders, men or women?
"It's about the same. I've had quite a few women."
The worst spot in the valley?
"We see a lot at Point of the Mountain."
And the carpool lane has an added role.
"We get a lot of passing in the HOV lane."
Highway safety leaders have tried cracking down on aggressive driving.
Jan Crane/ Utah Highway Patrol: "We try to educate people that if they do it, that they can actually go to jail for what they are doing."
When get tough doesn't work, the courts are ordering more drivers to seek treatment through therapy and anger management counseling.
Dr. John Gawrys/ Therapist: "While there is resistance initially, we find that after two or three, maybe four sessions, our clients discover suddenly that these are really valuable skills."
"Gretchen"/Road rage therapy: "I definitely honk my horn and, yes, I've been known to tailgate."
"Gretchen": "I think the biggest message that I received from the program is it absolutely, externally does not matter what's going on around you. You are the only person that you control."
Our trooper and therapist agree, the best response to road rage, is no response.
Sara Crane/UHP: "If you just slow down and move over, maybe they'll leave you alone and just get to where they are going."
That's a lesson this driver learned the hard way.
Intimidated by a tailgating driver, she lost control and ended in a crash on I-15 that left her car cut in half.
Jordan Gasser/Road Rage Victim: "Just try and be calm, stay in control. That's exactly what I wish I would have done, thinking about it now."
No response is best if you're the victim. But could you be an offender?
How would you answer these questions?
- Do you "punish" bad drivers?
- Too impatient to warm up car?
- Do you compete with other drivers?
