As Road Rage Cases Go Up, Denver Police Watch For Bad Driving Behavior
DENVER (CBS4) - Since January, there have been close to 800 reported road rage incidents in Denver, according to police. Most of them stem from speeding.
Denver Police Officer John Bolen was up early on Sunday which is usually his day off. He was catching suspected speeders along Interstate 70 through Denver.
"No one I've measured so far is going less than 72," he said.
That is a problem because the speed limit on I-70 and I-25 through Denver is 55 mph.
"Generally it's closer to 80 (mph) what people are going through at and this is actually uphill."
That makes for a busy morning writing tickets.
"Our goal is not ticket numbers despite what people think. I hear it all the time," said Bolen.
Instead, Denver Police wants to cut down on aggressive driving and road rage and its precursors like swerving in and out of traffic, following too close and of course speeding.
Bolen says he routinely clocks people at around 100 mph on the highways especially in the early morning and late at night when the highway has less traffic.
"People just like to go really fast."
DPD is not trying to harass people or make Bolen work on his day off. They just want people to drive safely and think about what their speed or aggression might do to others.
"Our goal is to allow the public to drive their cars and make it to wherever it is they are trying to get to in Denver without any incidents," said Bolen.
He also stresses if you are being tailgated do not speed up. Just move over and do not drive in the left lane which is meant for passing only.