Road rage, super-speeding and reckless driving on the rise

The pandemic set off a rise in speeding that hasn't stopped. This hour, we discuss incidents of road rage and dangerous reckless driving posing a threat to commuters.

Listen 49:12
Traffic on I-95 heads south toward Center City.

Traffic on I-95 heads south toward Center City. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Reckless driving, like super-speeding, zooming through red lights, and riding highway shoulders is on the rise – and incidents of road rage appear to be increasing, too. Crashes, especially fatal ones, had been declining over the past few decades, but since the pandemic started, roads have become increasingly dangerous.

As workers in the U.S. resume their usual commutes, kids head back to school, and more pedestrians and cyclists are out on the streets, what can we do about bad drivers? We discuss why the pandemic was hurt traffic safety and how to make roads safer for everyone.

Nichole Morris, Director of the HumanFIRST Laboratory at the University of Minnesota, and Jake Nelson, Director of Traffic Safety Advocacy & Research for AAA join us. This episode was originally broadcast April 15th, 2022.

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