ISP safety campaign deals with road rage

Posted on January 10, 2024
The latest Illinois State Police safety campaign is called “Road Rage – Don’t Engage.” (Facebook/Illinois State Police)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – “Road Rage, Don’t Engage” is the name of the latest safety campaign from Illinois State Police.

Trooper Jayme Bufford says about fifteen percent of interstate highway shootings in 2021 were from road rage, and that percentage went past forty in each of the next two years.

“Don’t roll down your windows,” Bufford says. “If you’re in the left lane, change to the right lane. Slow down. Let them pass you. Don’t engage with any of their behavior. If, for instance, you’re merging onto the interstate and there’s other vehicles, make sure you use your turn signal, give plenty of room, so you are not purposely trying to cut off somebody else. What escalates that road rage is when somebody gets cut off and gets upset.”

Bufford says if all else fails, call 911.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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