OHP: Lack Of Resources Makes It Hard To Cut Down On Road Rage Issues

We can all relate to being frustrated with construction zones, but some drivers say road rage is getting out of hand.

The locals who have to drive through construction along Highway 51 west of Sand Springs say the road rage has gotten so bad they're worried it's only a matter of time until someone gets hurt or killed.

“It’s an everyday battle,” driver Nichole Avey said. “It needs to stop.”

The drive to and from work has become nerve-wrecking for Avey.

“People are flying past me on the shoulder, in the grass,” she said.

Avey lives off Highway 51 and has to drive through the construction zone multiple times.

“I go the speed limit - between 40 and 45,” she said. “People are constantly on my bumper or flashing their headlights at me or just honking their horns and being irate.”

And, because she obeys the law, she said she's had numerous close calls with impatient drivers who don’t.

“A couple weeks ago, a gentleman veered in front of me, slammed on his brakes and flipped me off out the window,” Avey said.

After every dangerous encounter, Avey said she calls the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

“We troopers, we personally, we want to go out there and we want to sit and we want to stop that from happening,” OHP Trooper Dwight Durant said.

The problem, Durant said, is OHP doesn't have the manpower to do that.

There are 804 troopers today; Durant said a study showed 1,100 is the ideal number.

But because of budget constraints, Durant said there won't be a trooper academy next year. That combined with retiring troopers, could cause the number to fall to 750 by 2018.

“In an ideal situation you may have 10 or 12 troopers assigned to Tulsa County, but, as it is now, you may have two,” Durant said.

Still, Durant said just because a trooper isn't watching an area today doesn't mean one won't be there tomorrow. And, he stresses it’s important for road rage victims to not instigate the issue.

“Don't look at them, don't give them any hand gestures, don't brake check them,” Durant said. “These violent people drive cars and they'll follow you.”

The fines for speeding through a construction zone are hefty, but road rage drivers could face criminal charges and jail time.

“They have speed limits for a reason. Slow down, take your time and stop with the road rage. It's not gonna do anybody any good,” Avey said.

OHP said troopers seen sitting near construction zones with their lights flashing as a warning for drivers are off duty and paid by the contractor of the construction project, not by the state.