Posted on 11/06/2014 9:20:22 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Road rage rages out of control as drivers right here in Maryland find themselves caught up in dangerous and even deadly situations.
Vic Carter has more.
When a stranger behind the wheel begins to attack, the terror is real. One man tells WJZ about his terrifying story driving through Anne Arundel County.
In January, a man was murdered after he was run off Interstate 81 just over the Maryland line. That killer was never found.
Last year in Anne Arundel County, a terrified New Jersey man—driving with his wife and three young children, used deadly force to stop another driver.
“When I went to turn onto this road leading to the interstate, I made the left and next thing I know, I’ve got this car up alongside me, just yelling at us,” said Joseph Walker, a victim of road rage.
Walker described for WJZ those terrifying moments on Route 175 in Odenton.
Another driver forced Walker’s minivan off the road. When he got out to check his tires, Walker’s family hid as two men got out of the other car and headed straight for them.
“As they started to get a little too close and ignoring what I was saying and when I could hear what they were saying—`[expletive] you, you’re dead.’ That’s when I drew my weapon and I asked them again, `Please just go,'” Walker said. “At a certain point, I was in fear for me; I was in fear for my family. I had to.”
Deadly confrontations between strangers on the road are happening at an alarming rate. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported more than 200 people were murdered over a seven-year period. Nearly 13,000 were hurt. Another frightening statistic: two percent of drivers actually admit to trying to run someone off the road!
“We still have people who drive aggressively; we still have people that are upset and display road rage when they’re on the roadway,” said Maryland State Police Sgt. Marc Black.
But what triggers road rage?
Baltimore County psychologist Dr. Jack Vaeth says it’s a product of our society.
“The number one complaint of the 1990s by road rage people was `I was being tailgated! He was on my back!’ The number one complaint now is nothing about tailgating. `She was on the cell phone!’ `She was impeding my progress!’ So we, as a society, have changed. More cars, more congestion, more anger, busier schedules, adding cell phones and texting,” Vaeth said.
“You have to realize what your priorities are. Does it really benefit you to want to jump out on somebody because they cut you off, pull up alongside someone because they’re driving too slow? And I think people have to ask themselves before they take those actions—what do I have to lose by taking this action?” Walker said.
Walker is a detective in New Jersey. In July, he was tried on first degree murder charges in the death of Joseph Harvey and was acquitted of all the charges.
Walker still faces a civil suit filed by the victim’s family.
That is the one thing that really does trip my trigger. I don’t know why some drivers think they have the right to set the pace and create the congestion. More often than not on the interstate around here in PA the worst offenders have either a NY or NJ plate.
I lived in Arlington for many years and drove all over the area and I do believe that Maryland drivers are worse on average than other drivers. Now I live in NJ and it seems better up here, overall, though there are of course bad drivers everywhere.
Read the comment from the posted article, a comment labeled “Just trying to make a buck”. It’s interesting.
I see nobody has commented on this situation yet. It should be pointed out that, in MD, if Walker had not been a LEO, he and/or his family would likely be dead since a concealed carry license is essentially unobtainable. I would advance the theory that road rage and actual assault/battery is increasing because the jerks know that their intended victim is not likely to have the means to defend themselves.
I'm glad for Detective Walker and his family with their outcome but denial of the rights of citizenship lead to potentially deadly consequences for those who are not "special" in MD.
I’ve been there - stuck in the fast lane doing just over the speed limit. Four or five cars behind the slow driver just inching past a few cars doing the speed limit in the right lane. About three car lengths behind the car in front of me.
Car comes ripping up behind me, sits a few inches off my bumper, cuts to the right the first chance they get, floor it to get around me and slip in front of me and hit the brakes.
I’m so used to it around here that as soon as I see them cut to the right I back off on the gas cause I know they’re coming. They continue doing it trying to get past everyone.
Just yesterday when the light turned green a highrise pickup in the right lane stomped on the gas and cut to the left lane in front of me. I swear his high bumper crossed over the top of my bumper.
That’s when I drew my weapon and I asked them again, `Please just go,’”
Walker said. “At a certain point, I was in fear for me; I was in fear
for my family. I had to.”
Had to what?
What a lousy written news story.
Yes, deadly force was used. Did both attackers get shot?
Or were they bludgeoned with a tire iron?
If this reporter has 30 years experience, it’s time for a career change !
Yah, I went to visit a friend in Baltimore and got on the beltway. It was like flying one of those B17s In the movie “Tora Tora Tora” White knuckle driving while getting buzzed by morons driving 75 MPH while I was going 65.
I was in the left hand lane doing the speed limit.
You were impeding traffic. It is the law here that you have to move out of the left lane if you are not passing. Doesn’t matter if you are doing the speed limit. —
Not in a two-lane construction zone.
We’ll good news; DC just legalized marijuana so it’ll soon be a mix of 8 MPH inept mellowness and high-speed homicidal rage. Pass the popcorn, please
We live in central Virginia, in a rural area ten minutes outside of Lynchburg. My husband was raised in this area and it’s where we came to live when we got married in 1996.
Back then you could drive down 460 from Lynchburg to our house on a weekday, pre-rush hour, and almost have the highway to yourself. Now it’s a madhouse...more like I-95 coming out of Richmond. My husband always tells me to try and avoid the Friday jailbreak...I swear they’re crazy then.
True. But there is still something very, very wrong with Maryland. Go to Baltimore and walk around sometime. Land of the Morlocks.
Yeah, I see it everyday during my I-270 gauntlet commute. Just last week, some loser in a contractor’s truck tried to play road warrior with me because he decided that 70 miles per hour was way too slow on that highway.
If it’s “surging out of control”, meaning there are actually more incidents, I’d chalk it up to speed cameras. The big brother tyranny of the state is pushing borderline people over the edge.
Agreed. No question about it. I live on Capitol Hill and we get the PG commuters. I'm for nuking the bridges.
There are many problems with DC area drivers. The most serious are:
Natives to the area - cannot drive in ANY kind of inclement weather (even the mention of a possibility over TV or radio.
Tourists - don’t know where the He|| they’re going or how to get there and
Diplomats and Government overlords - who don’t give a $h!t about anyone else on the road.
I had to drive in the MD-DC area about a month ago for business. It was the most maddening traffic I’ve ever been in. It took me 1 hour to go 15 miles. If you told me that I would have to drive in that traffic every day, I would have named 2 NOV as the end as well.
Well, in Georgia at least, it’s the law to move right for faster traffic, even if you think you’re going “fast enough.” It’s not your job to play citizen traffic monitor.
That kind of driving caused a lot of problems here in Colorado too.
Then they passed the Colorado Left Lane law, which says the driver needs to move right no matter his speed unless he is passing.
That simple act of legally forcing motorists to behave politely has made an enormous difference, traffic moves faster and safer.
North Carolina suffers from the MD refugees fleeing
They did the same and the truck almost rear ended them. Which was my plan.
Gee, I can't imagine why you have had so many incidents.
There is no “fast lane” on I-270 or 290...in fact the right hand lanes are more dangerous than the left because of mergers going fender to fender with other motorists in them.
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