A weekend shooting in Deerfield Beach is putting the spotlight on dangerous driving conditions and the increase in road rage incidents. NBC 6’s Willard Shepard reports.
Broward Sheriff's Office deputies are still investigating an early morning shooting on Interstate 95 in Deerfield Beach this past weekend that left one person dead and three injured.
The incident occurred just after 1:40 a.m. Saturday morning when deputies received a call about a shooting in the northbound lanes of I-95 between Sample Road and Southwest 10th Street.
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BSO Deerfield Beach deputies and Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to the scene when they discovered that a gunman had opened fire on another car, causing the vehicle to crash.
Paramedics rushed to the area where they found three people shot. One of them was pronounced dead at the scene and at least one other person was injured during the traffic crash.
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“Road rage is dangerous no matter where you are at," said retired FHP trooper and former police detective Ed Hill. "Number one, a lot of incidents occur in South Florida. The problem is not traffic. The problem is calm minds.“
Minds that explode when frustrated.
As of November, almost 2.5 million people have concealed weapons permits in Florida —just short of 10% of the population.
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In the latest data available, the finance group bankrate.com found Florida at the top of their list when it comes to road rage with a weapon, with Texas and California next in line.
“People want to get a concealed weapon permit and want to carry a firearm,” Hill said. “That’s a risk factor on the roadways these days.”
The American Automobile Association said over a 7-year period, 218 people were killed in road rage incidents in the U.S., with more than 12,000 injured.
“Somebody cuts somebody off, guy has a gun legally, grabs his gun. He’s that angry and upset and then he start shooting at another car. That should never happen," Hill said.
The data shows that male drivers are far more likely to take out their frustrations on others.
When it comes to cutting off another driver, 15% of men reported to AAA they had done it compared to just 8% of women. About 5% of men admitted to confronting someone on the road, women accounted for less than 2%. And about 4% of men reported to going as far as bumping or ramming another car, with 1% of women admitted to doing this.
“People don’t take their time. When you have somebody coming up besides you shooting you the finger, don’t respond. Focus on what you are doing, ignore them,” Hill said.
According to researchers, the time of day you might expect for the most road rage is in the 6 p.m. hour.
