Cracking Down On Road Rage
By Natasha Brown
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The stats are alarming: Two-thirds of deadly crashes involve aggressive driving. But even avoiding a crash doesn't mean avoiding danger from an angry driver. Natasha Brown reports on how police want to cool down confrontations before they turn violent, and the New Jersey man who says he was forced to take lethal action.
In January, a man is run off the road and murdered on I-81 just over the Pennsylvania state line. His killer is still at large.
Last year in Maryland, a New Jersey man, an off-duty detective driving with his wife and three 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.
Walker says the driver screamed racial slurs and forced his vehicle off the road. When he got out to check his tires, two men got out of the other car and headed toward Walker and his family.
"As they started to get a little too close and ignoring what I was saying and when I could hear what they were saying, 'F you, you're dead...' that's when I drew my weapon," Walker said. "And I asked them again, please just go."
Then Walker opened fire.
"I was in fear for me, I was in fear for my family," Walker said. "I had to."
Walker was charged with first-degree murder. A jury acquitted him, agreeing that the shooting was in self-defense.
Sgt. Al Elverson handles traffic enforcement for Upper Merion.
"It's just unbelievable how everybody's in such a hurry to get to where they're going, they're willing to get out of a car and fight with somebody because they weren't going fast enough," Sgt. Elverson said.
His department and others in Pennsylvania have been using federal funds to crack down on aggressive driving. In one three-hour burst this fall, his department issued more than 60 tickets.
"You cannot drive safely if you're driving aggressively," Sgt. Elverson said.
That includes speeding, tailgating, improper passing. If someone does it to you, don't escalate the situation.
"It just makes no sense to get out of your car for any reason over a traffic dispute," he said.
Walker still faces a civil lawsuit from the family of the man he killed.
Meanwhile, Upper Merion Police say they'll be back out on the roads next week before Thanksgiving, cracking down on aggressive driving.
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