40 cases of road rage in the Indianapolis area this year

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana State Police are asking motorists to be alert on the roads.

The agency said the number of road rage shootings is increasing across the state and that Indianapolis is on track to break its record of 55 road rage incidents set last year.

WRTV

We are only halfway through the year and according to the ISP, there have already been 40 cases of road rage in the Indianapolis area.

This is worrying for truck drivers.

“You won’t get anywhere any faster if you try to take your chances,” said truck driver Jeff Bell.

Rodney Peterson has been behind the wheel for 22 years. He says he experiences between 10 and 20 cases of road rage every day.

He says that as a truck driver, he saw one car after another cut people off or freak out.

“A lot of people are frustrated. They know the lane is over, you have to merge. Nobody wants to sit. Nobody wants to wait. So it’s all about patience,” Peterson said.

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But some drivers have run out of patience.

This week, Indiana State Police arrested an 18-year-old on attempted murder charges following an alleged shooting last week on I-70 westbound in Morgan County.

PREVIOUS | 22-year-old arrested after targeted shooting of semi-trailer driver on I-70 (wrtv.com)

A 22-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for his alleged involvement in a road rage shooting on I-70 in Mt. Comfort in Hancock County.

Police were also investigating a second highway shooting Wednesday on I-65 northbound in Whitestown.

PREVIOUS | Whitestown police investigating shooting on I-65; motorists asked to avoid area (wrtv.com)

A truck driver from Wisconsin was passing through Indy and was shot in the head sometime along the highway. The victim is now in the hospital.

“For someone who has spent a lot of time on the road, this is very disturbing,” Bell said. “It only takes a split second to make a bad decision, and when you let your emotions get the better of you, it happens. Someone gets hurt or killed.”

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According to the ISP, there were 55 interstate shootings in all of 2023, many of which were the result of simple gestures.

“They don’t want to trigger a shooting with brake checks, flashing lights or hand gestures. But if we can reduce those things, we firmly believe we can reduce the number of interstate shootings,” said ISP Trooper Cameron Bottema.

Trooper Bottema recommends that all drivers equip their vehicles with cameras.

Because such shootings can happen so quickly, ISP explains, cameras in vehicles could help capture license plates as well as the color and model of the vehicles.