June 20, 2012
Vol 14
July 13, 2011
No 25
Vol 13 No 28
A road rage incident on May 26 in O’Fallon could have easily been prevented.
Preventing Road Rage By Shelly A. Schneider
IN this Issue
On a warm May afternoon, an O’Fallon resident allegedly cut off a female motorcycle rider on westbound I-70 near Bryan Road. Colonel Roy Joachimstaler, chief of police for the city of O’Fallon, said the incident occurred as the 65 yearold man – the driver of the car – exited the highway. A couple on separate motorcycles stopped at a traffic signal. The male motorcyclist, 49 years of age, got off of his motorcycle and approached the driver’s door of the vehicle and words were exchanged between the two. During that verbal exchange the motorcyclist reportedly began physically assaulting the driver of the vehicle and at that time the driver of the vehicle, who was armed with a .380 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, fired one shot striking the motorcyclist in the upper left chest. The driver of the car was not charged, and the male motorcyclist was released from the hospital. Joachimstaler said the O’Fallon Police Department handles road rage calls quite frequently. “Cooler heads should have prevailed on this, on both sides,” he said. “If people find themselves that upset with another driver, please call the police and report the violation.” According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, aggressive driving behaviors are a factor in up to 56 percent of fatal crashes. Additionally, nearly 90 percent of drivers view aggressive driving as very serious or somewhat serious threat to their own safety. A separate AAA Foundation study looked at more than 10,000 road rage incidents committed over seven years, and found they resulted in at least 218 murders and another 12,610 injury cases. When drivers explained why they became violent, the reasons were often trivial: “She wouldn’t let me pass,” “They kept tailgating me,” or, as this driver accused of attempted murder explained, “He practically ran me off the road – what was I supposed to do?”
So how do you prevent road rage? Joachimstaler said the easiest thing to do is pay attention. “Young or old,” he said, “the majority of accidents occur because of inattention. People are on cell phones, putting on make up, eating, or changing the radio station. If you get a cell phone call, pull over into a parking lot and take the call. People should pay attention not only to what you’re doing, but to what everyone else is doing. Keep your head on a swivel. You have to be cognizant of what everyone else is doing.” Here are some tips from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: 1. Don’t offend. When surveys ask drivers what angers them most, the results are remarkably consistent. A few specific behaviors seem unusually likely to enrage other drivers. You can protect yourself by avoiding them. Cutting off. When you merge, make sure you have plenty of room. Use your turn signal to show your intentions before making a move. If you make a mistake and accidentally cut someone off, try
Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5 Lincoln County Life . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
to apologize to the other driver with an appropriate gesture. If someone cuts you off, slow down and give them room to merge into your lane. Driving slowly in the left lane. If you
are in the left lane and someone wants to pass, move over and let them by. You may be “in the right” because you are traveling at the speed limit – but you may also be See ROAD RAGE page 4
MOVIE PEEK
School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Joe Morice / Sports . . . . . . . . . . . 10
See MOVIE page 9
“Rock of Ages” - Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Shelly Schneider / Recipe . . . . . . . . 11 What’s Happening . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13 Pet Adoptions / Classifieds . . . . . 14-15
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