Did you know there's a multi-agency task force dedicated to investigating road rage incidents?
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – North Texas police agencies are investigating hundreds of road rage cases every month - including one Monday on Central Expressway in Dallas.
They said the numbers increased when COVID lockdowns ended – and now they have a multi-agency task force dedicated to keeping all of us safe on the roads.
On a busy North Texas highway, during the busy lunch hour, shots rang out from one vehicle to another. A man driving a Mazda at Central Expressway and Midpark Road was taken to the hospital in stable condition. Police are searching for the shooter. It's a scenario that plays out nearly every day somewhere on our roadways.
"I think there's just a lot of aggression there on the roadways. People driving recklessly," said Major Mark Villarreal with the Dallas Police Department.
Dallas police did not start tracking road rage cases until 2021, but according to TxDOT data analyzed by the CBS 11 I-Team, from 2012-2022, there were 3,598 vehicle crashes in the DFW area with road rage listed as a contributing factor. Those crashes resulted in 1,213 injuries and 22 fatalities. In the past 10 years, there has been a steady overall increase in the number of road rage crashes in DFW, from 256 in 2012 to 303 in 2022 through late November.
From 2012 to 2022, there were 118 road rage crashes on Central Expressway alone. But police said the creation of the Road Rage Task Force a year ago is starting to yield results across DFW.
"We do a monthly operation, a large-scale operation," said Major Villarreal. "We'll take heavy enforcement action in that area during specific times that we see through the statistics that these offenses and reckless driving and aggressive driving are occurring."
That, he said, coupled with public education, lead to a decrease in incidents and homicides the first year of the Task Force. He said there are also ways drivers can avoid becoming road rage victims.
"Don't follow an aggressive driver," he said. "Just call 911, and we'll get to you."