With summer roadwork kicking into high gear, experts say we can expect to see more frustrated drivers on Greater Victoria roads – and more road rage.
Steve Wallace of Wallace Driving School has been teaching driving for more than four decades. He says he's never seen as much road rage as he does now on capital region streets. And he says it tends to get worse during the summer months.
"People are disturbed because of construction, they're disturbed because of the sheer volume of traffic," Wallace said.
It’s a sentiment echoed by flagger Scarlet Hampson. She says she witnesses road rage every single day, including drivers gesturing aggressively and swearing at each other.
Wallace advised that if you do find yourself embroiled in an escalating battle with a fellow driver, don’t leave your vehicle, stay calm, drive away and report the identity of the other vehicle to police.
"Make sure you have control of yourself. Make sure you have secured yourself. Get the licence plate of the person that is in violation and report to the police."
The advice comes a day after Victoria police sought the public's help identifying a driver in an alleged road rage incident in downtown Victoria.
On Monday, police say a driver threw a lit cigarette into another vehicle, which had a child in the backseat.
Fortunately, the child was not harmed, but the driver of the vehicle where the butt landed was injured.
Saanich police spokesperson Sgt. Julie Fast said that while the department fields calls about road rage all year, the incidents seem to be on the rise.
"If we look back at the 2017 stats that we've collected to the 2018 stats, we have seen a bit of an increase," Fast said.
"It comes down to people not planning ahead, not giving them enough time to get to their destinations, lacking patience."
