Whether it’s being cut off, subjected to a brake check, or getting honked at for going too slow, most Calgary drivers have encountered road rage at some point.
Calgary’s top cop also thinks these events are becoming the norm for the city’s drivers.
Police Chief Mark Neufeld told the Calgary Herald in January that road rage is rising in the city.
“We see people behaving toward others in ways we didn’t see five years ago,” he said.
“It seems like your average Calgarian is actually allowing things to bother them so much that they’re getting more aggressive with one another,” Neufeld told the newspaper.
“Next thing you know things have accelerated well beyond what anybody would expect,” Neufeld added.
While this may feel true for those who frequently drive Calgary roads, the city’s top law enforcement officer did not offer any specific data to support his claim in his interview with the Calgary Herald.
The Calgary Journal asked for the road rage statistics.
Calgary’s road rage facts
Calgary Police Service (CPS) began tracking road rage incidents reported to 911 in 2020. By 2023, calls surged from more than 900 to 2,259.
“There’s a 13 per cent increase compared to a three-year average between 2021 and 2023,” said Acting Staff Sgt. Bradley Norman with CPS’s traffic unit.
And the number of road rage incidents ticked up to 2,301 last year.
Norman also notes there’s a seasonal trend.
“Between December and March you don’t see much [road rage], but during the summer, spring, and fall, it goes up,” he added in an interview with the Calgary Journal.
Last year, Calgary experienced an average of more than six reports of road rage per day. This increase aligns with Neufeld’s claims that road rage accidents are accelerating.
While there are more reports of road rage, CPS cannot say if Calgarians are becoming more aggressive on city streets.
How to manage road rage
Patrick Keelan, a registered psychologist, explains that it’s a form of anger management that begins with a trigger.
“If someone were to have one of those triggers occur, that’s the first point in the sequence where it can be managed effectively or not,” said Keelan.
“When it’s not managed effectively, that’s when there’s a negative appraisal which prompts an emotional or physical response,” Keelan added. “Then you have the behavioural response, which is how you respond with your actions and words.”
Keelan suggests basic practice is the best way to manage a negative appraisal.
He compares it to a hockey player. Players often face provocation from opponents, such as jabbing a stick into them to provoke a penalty. Rather than reacting impulsively, players practice letting go of these situations, choosing a more constructive and thoughtful response.
“Try and anticipate what you can do to cope and manage in terms of changing your composure. Internally, with your mind, your body and your behavioural reactions, so you can give a good constructive response,” Keelan advised.
The psychologist emphasizes that while road rage may seem on the rise, it’s not new.
“The notion that there’s suddenly an upsurge in anger management, that’s probably not the case,” Keelan explained.
The verdict on Calgary road rage
CPS data suggests a surge in road rage reports to 911.
Neufeld’s claim is mostly accurate.
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