The psychology behind road rage and how to de-escalate as incidents increase

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Traffic violence incidents are becoming more common in the Vegas Valley, according to Metro Police.

To Monday afternoonMetro police responded to a fatal shooting on the Strip near Palazzo.

It is said that a woman in her 20s and an Uber driver in his 50s were involved in a traffic accident.

According to police, the Uber driver got out of his car and began banging on the woman’s window.

Then she shot him.

Monday’s incident with the Uber driver is currently under investigation possible self-defense.

“We’re seeing a slight increase in some of these road rage shootings and some homicides. Please – none of this is worth your life,” said Lt. Jason Johansson of the LVMPD Homicide Unit.

“Would he have stayed in his car? I don’t condone what happened. What I’m saying is if he had stayed in the car, it probably wouldn’t have been worth anyone’s life.”

Just a day later, Metro police investigated another caseRoad rage near Alta Drive and Upland Boulevard in the West Valley.

According to the police, shots were fired, but there were no injuries.

News 3 spoke with Dr. Timothy Jeider of Nevada Mental Health on what leads to road rage incidents.

“It’s no longer a normal thought process. “Your brain has shut down and it’s purely an emotional drive response that people can’t regulate the way they used to right now,” said Dr. Everyone.

Jeider says that road rage outbursts are often not caused by a single action.

“The stress of the day piles up,” he said. “It’s not just the last lane change. It’s all that happened. And so a certain amount of frustration just builds up without that anger being properly vented, and so it builds up without being vented.”

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That’s why he gave some tips.

If you find yourself irritable or angry while out and about, he recommends starting by taking deep breaths to relieve stress.

“If you’re particularly out on the road and you become emotional, reactive and reactive when you stop, take a break,” Dr. Everyone.

Dr. Jeider also recommends that drivers avoid engaging in actions that could lead to violence because of simple things, even if the other driver may take the first action.

This is the idea of ​​de-escalating the situation.

“There are so many wild cards like: What do you hope to get out of this performance? Correct? It’s like, I’m willing to fight with this person, but I’m not willing to die.” Well, you don’t know what’s going to happen if you get out of your car and knock on someone’s window. So don’t get involved with anyone because you can’t decide where that boundary is. “Jeider said.

Former Clark County District Attorney David Roger, who has handled many such cases, recommends calling for help if the situation gets out of hand.

“Call 9-1-1. Metro will respond fairly quickly or Highway Patrol. They’ll tell you to turn on the emergency lights,” Roger said.

And hopefully it doesn’t get to the point where someone has to use lethal force.”