Road Rage Island: Violent incidents are up, but experts have tips for staying safe on roadways

Getting behind the wheel on Long Island means confronting a disturbing trend: a sharp rise in road rage incidents in recent years, even some that have turned deadly.

Experts familiar with the problem, which state and local data illustrates, said factors that could be contributing to the uptick include increased road congestion since the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane and stressors that include job and financial worries.

They also said there are ways for irate drivers to rein in their tempers while those on the receiving end of confrontations can try techniques designed to avoid escalations into violence.

Alec Slatky, a spokesman for AAA Northeast, said even the meekest person can become an enraged driver.

"You put them behind the wheel of a car and just psychologically it changes them," he said. "We see people that get into these incidents that would never dream of doing something like this in another context."

Last year, the Island had a 15% spike in crashes involving either road rage or aggressive driving compared with 2020, with 340 crashes in 2023 following 295 in 2020, according to the Albany-based Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research.

Data from the Nassau County Police Department that includes all road rage incidents, including criminal incidents and noncriminal episodes — which don't involve injuries or property damage — shows an even clearer picture of the growing problem.

In Nassau, road rage related incidents rose 210% in the last few years, with 57 cases in 2020 compared with 177 cases in 2023, according to statistics police spokeswoman Det. Tracey Cabey provided. She said as of Monday, there had been 169 incidents in 2024.

A Suffolk County Police Department spokeswoman said the agency is unable to track road rage incidents in its record-keeping system and that officials otherwise would decline to comment.

'Escalates very quickly'

The road rage issue has been playing out in both counties, most recently with a driver's arrest in Suffolk on felony charges and a motorist's sentencing in Nassau in a crime that ended a Baldwin man's life last year.

On Monday, driver Patrick Loughlin, 37, of Babylon, pleaded not guilty to assault charges after police alleged he ran over someone Saturday night at a West Babylon shopping center.

Suffolk police said Loughlin and the alleged victim had an altercation outside Gino's Pizzeria on Route 109 before Loughlin allegedly rammed that person's vehicle three times with his pickup and ran over his body before leaving the scene. A lawyer for the alleged victim identified him as Sachem school district teacher John Aebly.

Police haven't said what led to the alleged altercation and Loughlin's attorney previously told Newsday his client "has never been in trouble in his life."

Last week, a Nassau judge sentenced Queens man Patrick Destine, 28, to 18 years to life in prison for the deadly beating of another driver, David McKenzie, 54, in Baldwin last spring.

Authorities said on April 15, 2023, Destine blew a stop sign in his Infiniti and smashed into McKenzie's minivan before he chased after and fatally beat the victim, who was steps from his home.

Nassau County Police Department Commissioner Patrick Ryder acknowledged the growing problem in an interview Tuesday.

"We’ve had shootings. We've had people being beaten with bats ... it escalates very quickly," Ryder said.

The commissioner said the department has added patrols to conduct traffic enforcement to deal with road rage, which is on pace to surpass last year’s figures in Nassau.

The Island's overall increase in crashes related to road rage or aggressive driving aligns with a statewide rise last year. Across the state, road rage or aggressive driving was listed as a contributing factor in 2,859 crashes in 2023, compared with 2,651 in 2020, according to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research.

'They see red'

While road rage is not a new problem, some experts said adding traffic woes and impediments on top of high stress levels can push even the most reasonable person over the edge. Other experts disagreed, saying only people with certain risk factors resort to violence behind the wheel.

But Slatky, the AAA Northeast spokesman, explained that all drivers trying to get to a destination can perceive other drivers on the road as obstacles that are "in the way."

Slatky and others who have studied road rage said that’s because there’s a tendency to view drivers in cars as objects and not people, making it easier to act poorly. 

The surge in incidents also comes at a time where more people are struggling financially and experiencing more stress overall, according to Thomas DiBlasi, a licensed psychologist and assistant professor at LIU Post.

"When you're concerned about putting food on the table and you are feeling stressed, you are more likely now to have displaced anger and take that out on the road," DiBlasi said.

Licensed clinical social worker Bill Solz used a simple analogy to describe road rage.

He compared it to water boiling over from a pot. Water in the pot represents stored up stress and the flames heating the pot are stressors, he said. For people managing a lot of stress, Solz said, it doesn’t take much to set them off and for the water to boil over.

"People who have road rage, from my experience, have a lot of accumulated stress. They do not need much to trigger them. If somebody cuts them off, that's it, they see red," said Solz, director of Stress Solutions of New York in Melville.

He said people exhibiting road rage haven't learned proper coping mechanisms.

 "People do not know how to effectively deal with stress," he said. 

Mark R. Serper, a Hofstra University psychology professor, said there are multiple factors that may put people at increased risk of road rage. He said they include being a thrill seeker, having a sense of entitlement and being exposed to media that glorifies car racing and chases.

"People aren't out just going for a Sunday leisurely drive. These days, most people get in the car and want to get there as fast as they can, as quickly as possible. Any kind of obstacle that blocks them from that can lead to aggressive tendencies," he said.

Slow drivers, traffic jams and road construction can cause people at increased risk to fly off the handle, according to Serper.

Don't make eye contact

Experts said there are several strategies for drivers to stay calm. Drivers need to leave extra time to arrive at their destination, become more aware of their emotions and not overdramatize whatever issues are at hand, they advised. Some experts also described coping techniques.

DiBlasi suggested drivers try deep breathing combined with the idea that "even if I'm right, it doesn't give me the right" to behave badly. He also suggested having some "little reminders" in the car, personal items to serve as a message "to keep your cool," such as a key chain or fidget toy. 

Other experts said the best advice for those being targeted by other drivers is to keep quiet, don't make eye contact, don’t engage with the other person and to drive away.

Serper said people need to follow basic safety rules.

"If somebody's road raging at you, don't engage them. Stay safe, let them pass," he added.

Several Long Islanders on Tuesday said they steer clear of motorists who want to rule the road at the expense of other people's safety.

Syosset resident Steven Wolvovsky, 69, said if he encounters a hostile situation he just "backs off."

 "I used to interact with them and I said, it's not worth it because you don't know if they have a gun or something," he added.  

Glen Cove resident Annette Stephens said she was scared when a driver once drove up beside her and suddenly cut her off. She said she kept her emotions in check, realizing the other motorist could hurt her. The way she sees it, a lot of people don't have patience because of heavy traffic.

"I try to just calm myself down and ... I just say a prayer for them," Stephens, 64, said.