Road rage on the rise in Metro Detroit

**Pam** · July-09-21, 07:35 PM

An alarming trend, but I'm not buying that it's somehow Covid related. [[as per the shrink they talk to) Probably just part of the larger American problem of too many nuts with guns.
🤔🤪

https://youtu.be/zncbbDS9hHs

**hybridy** · July-09-21, 08:57 PM

Same reason why individuals didn’t feel like masking up at start of Covid for the greater good. Nobody gonna tell me what to do. F_ck you got mine buddy. People think individual freedom translates to recklessness and endangerment of others if they feel their rights are trampled upon. Change my mind.

**dtowncitylover** · July-09-21, 09:39 PM

Don't blame me, I voted for mass transit.

**Richard** · July-10-21, 01:22 AM

Originally Posted by Pam

An alarming trend, but I'm not buying that it's somehow Covid related. [[as per the shrink they talk to) Probably just part of the larger American problem of too many nuts with guns.
��

https://youtu.be/zncbbDS9hHs

Or two many nuts with cars,no where in the video did they say guns were involved in every case.

It was nice motoring about during the lockdowns,there was no traffic,it seems like in the last couple of years people are driving like they are the only ones on the road.

I am thinking they should invent,I do not know,we could call it a turn signal,or turn indicator for the highly educated ones,something that would tell the other drivers what ones intentions are.

In a 5 mile run today I counted 6 cases of people being stupid that came seconds from a serious wreck,it’s almost like somebody got a shot or something and everybody just went wako.

But it is like that everywhere,on the roads,in restaurants,in the supermarket,I was thinking that I was just getting old and grumpy but everywhere you go people are freaking out over the dumbest stuff ,I also am not buying the blame it on the virus either,people did not forget how to act because they were locked down like on home arrest.

I believe this is the story on the equinox clip used in that video.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/07/09/police-2-suvs-involved-in-shooting-on-i-75-in-detroit/

They did not know if it was road rage or not.

**old guy** · July-10-21, 03:09 AM

It isn’t just a Detroit thing. It’s definitely nation wide. A peculiar turn of events. Sad deal.

**Pam** · July-10-21, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

Or two many nuts with cars,no where in the video did they say guns were involved in every case.

Yes they did. When they showed the map with the dots they said each one was a shooting.

**Dan Wesson** · July-10-21, 07:07 AM

Every time I read about the idiots who cant get along with the rest of the idiots. I thinks of these scenes from Unforgiven, English Bob leaving town is classic. People on the roads today. No laws, No morals...

**Wheels** · July-10-21, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by hybridy

Same reason why individuals didn’t feel like masking up at start of Covid for the greater good. Nobody gonna tell me what to do. F_ck you got mine buddy. People think individual freedom translates to recklessness and endangerment of others if they feel their rights are trampled upon. Change my mind.

So according to your ridiculous rant every shooting was done by an anti masker or in effect a Trump supporter? Not sure you have your own mind just a cnn parrot.

**Bong-Man** · July-10-21, 10:58 AM

I think this issue is caused by every single thing in your life becoming faster, more efficient, on demand, except one thing....driving. We're still driving the exact same way we did in 1958, with the same technology, at the same speed, on the same roads. If you're a boomer, a car and it's ability to get you places is/was seen as freedom. To many of those younger it's nothing more than an episode of necessary boredom. They would rather stare at their phones for instant gratification, and most do.

Of course if you're driving down I-94 going 90 at 2am while packing an unregistered firearm, you're just an idiot.

**Zacha341** · July-10-21, 11:36 AM

LOL! Oh yeah that utopia of transpo! Where you can find yourself a 'happy' captive audience to a broad cache of violence and depravity [verbal and visual - including human feces and bed bugs ride-sharing!].

I road city busses for a portion of my life and that [then] was a far cry from the violence present there now as we've devolved societally. Ask New Yorkers - or a Detroiter riding the Dexter line. Given the option, withstanding some of the maniacs driving, I'll still choose driving.

But I'm careful, and like the control I would loose on public transit.

Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

Don't blame me, I voted for mass transit.

**Dan Wesson** · July-10-21, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

LOL! Oh yeah that utopia of transpo! Where you can find yourself a 'happy' captive audience to a broad cache of violence and depravity [verbal and visual - including human feces and bed bugs ride-sharing!].

I road city busses for a portion of my life and that [then] was a far cry from the violence present there now as we've devolved societally. Ask New Yorkers - or a Detroiter riding the Dexter line. Given the option, withstanding some of the maniacs driving, I'll still choose driving.

But I'm careful, and like the control I would loose on public transit.

Badda Boom Badda Bing...

Good one.

**Richard** · July-10-21, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by Pam

Yes they did. When they showed the map with the dots they said each one was a shooting.

It’s deceptive reporting,start out with road rage then investigated shooting and combine the two.

I posted the link about the video they used,two SUVs racing down the freeway shooting it out,Leo has one but has released no information as to if it was road rage or violence carry over as discussed in another thread.

Go back a little where one child was killed and another shot in a freeway shooting.

The shooter was released from prison a year before after serving time for murder,so did he just decide to jump in a car and hit the freeway and shoot some random vehicle?

They have the victims father and the shooter but neither one has come out and called it random or road rage nor has LEO.

Another one is a sedan with no plates pulled up alongside another and opened fire,so what did they do,pull over remove the plates and then go after somebody because of road rage ?

Highly unlikely.

Another one a silver sedan was whitnesed at two different shootings. Could be random.

As was mentioned it is happening all over the country,we have had 6 in the last 60 days with a majority having nothing to do with road rage.

It is a disservice to combine road rage and shootings without defining the spillover of what is escalating in certain neighborhoods.

What is directly related to road rage and what is directly related to escalating violence of another nature.

We forget people were on lockdown but grudges and retaliations were building at the time without being acted on.

So why the increase of taking it to the freeway to settle beefs ?

No cameras like they have in neighborhoods,multiple exits to escape in any direction and witnesses are seeing things in a split second at 70 mph and create different accounts of what happened with few details.

I think we need to get a bit more definitive on what exactly is happening and how it applies before ramping up the public about a cause.

Where I am at it has also increased,road rage with deadly results,the majority on the freeway being biker groups and gang related.

There are videos of road rage violence posted on YouTube,have been for years,considering probably 95% of the US population does not have dash cams only a small percentage has been documented and directly attributed to,so how do you deal with something without knowing the root cause?

I do not use the cell phone in the car anymore but when they first came out,I remember having phone conversations while driving home,arriving without even being able to remember what route I took,I could have cut 100 people off without even knowing it.

I see people driving 45 mph in the fast lane,which most states legally refer to it as a passing lane and not to be used for camping out in, looking at their phones,it’s like people have taken it to the next level of,it’s my car and it occupies this space on the road and I am entitled to use it as I see fit.

My uneducated thoughts are we are in an time of highly advertising and pressing individualism and it is all about me and my personal feelings,people are forgetting that when in public there are other individuals that also deserve the same respect you are asking for.

You cannot have individual catering in public.It is we.

**bust** · July-10-21, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

LOL! Ask New Yorkers -

New Yorker here, 2/3 of my adult life. If you had actually asked I'd tell you no way would I prefer a car over mass transit. Pretty sure dtowncitylover is/was a longtime new yorker too.

I've lived in several big cities and except for in Detroit mass transit has been good enough {despite what you've heard}. I'd rather avoid the high costs and extra hassles of owning a car.
Need one in a pinch? That's what taxis, etc. are for. It's cheaper, far easier, and you can choose the right one for each occasion.
Heading to the countryside? Did I say get the right one for the occasion before?
Take a train or a plane first -- you can go much farther, and you may be surprised: sometimes it's cheaper that way too.

There are trains and buses to mountains and beaches. For about the same price of gas from NY: Amtrak has a stop in the middle of the woods, at the Appalachian Trail.

Of course, your city must have invested in mass transit first.
Maybe if for the past century or so Detroit hadn't invested so heavily on building roads and expanding utilities to ever more distant exurbs. That's not just a one-time cost. It multiplies our future debt having to maintain exponentially larger infrastructure. And by diluting our economy we lost the vibrancy of density.

Far more populous cities: it takes far less time to get from the center of NY or Philadelphia to the woods.

It's pretty simple, really -- once you're used to it. But I get that it's easy to get discouraged having to learn a complex new system when you're comfortable with the complex system you've already learned. After not having done it in so long I wasn't looking forward to having to learn all the ins and outs of car purchasing, ownership, and maintenance. Did I already say the cost? It's much more than just getting familiar with the best ways from here to there.

**Jimaz** · July-10-21, 02:32 PM

I see the increase of road rage as yet another of many acts of desperation caused by the socioeconomic upheaval of Covid19.

I'm just grateful I don't have to drive much.

**bust** · July-10-21, 03:16 PM

No data to back it up, but I agree the economic distress, as well as the emotional distress of loss and worry and our limits on safe social interaction, has led to frustrations {and worse} and some are taking out on others.

Of course it's more likely the a-hole will shoot the more likely he has gun in his glove box.

But it's different for everyone, and not the same everywhere.

It has always seemed to me Detroit has had a much worse problem with road rage, speeding, and other road misbehavior than anywhere else I know.

Not a fan of local news as we're mostly accustomed to it-- studies show it makes people less informed {except for local sports and weather <-- my own unresearched opinion}. But stories about road rage were common on Detroit TV news during the late 80's, early 90's too.

**Zacha341** · July-10-21, 05:24 PM

I stand corrected... ask 'some' New Yorkers. And yes driving can be expensive and not doable in certain cities. Granted.

I have enjoyed the train services the few times I've used them [Amtrak].

Originally Posted by bust

New Yorker here, 2/3 of my adult life. If you had actually asked I'd tell you no way would I prefer a car over mass transit. Pretty sure dtowncitylover is/was a longtime new yorker too...

**kuuma** · July-10-21, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by bust

New Yorker here, 2/3 of my adult life. If you had actually asked I'd tell you no way would I prefer a car over mass transit.
...
After not having done it in so long I wasn't looking forward to having to learn all the ins and outs of car purchasing, ownership, and maintenance. Did I already say the cost? It's much more than just getting familiar with the best ways from here to there.

Echoing this post, as a New Yorker of 10 years who just moved to Detroit. the transit contrast is fresh and vivid in my mind still. we had a car the last 2 years in NYC for my wife's job out on Long Island, so having been able to compare and contrast NYC driving vs Subway/Bus/Rideshare/Revel.... there is no contest. NYers get cars if they absolutely need them [[like if you're a gigging drummer or commute out of the metro routinely), never ever because it's a more desirable manner of mobility than transit

To me, the road rage uptick also just underscores another reason Detroit would benefit hugely from a citywide [[or region-wide) rail system: the highly humanizing affect of seeing your fellow commuters as human beings standing across from you, people just like you, who can make eye contact with. You can't empathize through our giant zoom zoom death boxes while weaving through construction and rush hour while going 80mph with the omnipresent cost of damage constantly in the back of your mind.

that's on top of the amount of space, roadway maintenance, sacrifice to city walkability, price on the consumer for all associated auto costs, that come with a car-exclusive infrastructure. we are not doing ourselves any favors by shooting down attempts to implement transit!

**Ray1936** · July-10-21, 07:56 PM

You can only take my car keys when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

I think somebody else once said that, but it fits.

**Pam** · July-10-21, 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

I see the increase of road rage as yet another of many acts of desperation caused by the socioeconomic upheaval of Covid19.

I'm just grateful I don't have to drive much.

Well, if you can still afford a car, gasoline, guns and ammo, I think you must be doing ok economically.

**bust** · July-10-21, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

You can only take my car keys when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

We won't want them.

I wish you the best!

**dtowncitylover** · July-11-21, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

LOL! Oh yeah that utopia of transpo!

Oh like the utopia that the automobile gave Detroit? Shitty roads, shitty drivers, shitty politics that has obstructed decent mass transit for this region. I mean the utopic vision is much more realized under the car than under mass transit. "Cars are better. Cars are 'safer'. My freedums are threatened if anyone tries to build mass transit. And if you don't like it, LEAVE! tHiS iS DeTrOiT" ASK NEW YORKERS?!?!?!?!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Sounds like someone has never actually met any New Yorkers.

This city is awash in its own sinful pride and your post makes that perfectly clear.

**Jimaz** · July-11-21, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by Pam

... guns and ammo,....

You must have mistaken me for someone else?

**Pam** · July-11-21, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

You must have mistaken me for someone else?

I'm not speaking of you personally, you said economic factors are to blame for these shootings. I disagree that somebody driving around in a car shooting up the freeway is having economic issues.

**Jimaz** · July-11-21, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by Pam

I'm not speaking of you personally, you said economic factors are to blame for these shootings. I disagree that somebody driving around in a car shooting up the freeway is having economic issues.

I see. Fair enough.

By "caused by the socioeconomic upheaval of Covid19" I didn't mean Covid19 justifies or excuses the crime. I think socioeconomic upheaval {from any cause} does explain general increases in acts of desperation.

Even the wealthy can become desperate when they see their life's work disappear through no fault of their own. I'm noticing a lot of business owners angry that they can't hire help.

Opioid overdoses is another desperate act that has increased.