POSTED: Friday, December 16, 2011 - 10:36pm
UPDATED: Monday, December 19, 2011 - 3:50pm
EL PASO- As El Paso grows, so do cases of traffic congestion, and that produces a lot of frustration.
There have been 70 traffic related deaths in El Paso so far this year. Three people have been killed just this week.
Drivers in the Sun City told Newschannel 9 that they've had enough.
"Everybody is just always distracted doing their own thing, and I think that is what causes people to you know, start getting into accidents,” said driver Rigo Zamarron.
Zamarron says getting into accidents is something he knows all too well. He got into two accidents in his first year of driving.
"They were all my fault. I think I'm the bad driver. I just didn't see him, and I just hit him. Easy as that. I was making a left turn and boom,” said Zamarron.
Zamarron isn't the only one who sees other drivers distracted.
"Sometimes people in El Paso drive unsafely due to their texting on their phones. Talking on their phones. Not paying attention to the roads,” said driver Leslie Galeano.
What happens when drivers have had enough? Some resort to road rage. That's what police say prompted one motorist at an east side apartment to fire his gun at the car of another driver who cut him off on Tuesday night.
“The basic thing to remember is that road rage is a contributing factor to what we end up investigating. There is no set title for a road rage offense, however we do have a reckless driving offense which is a misdemeanor,” said El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Angelica Becerra.
The sheriff's office also says you can be cited for making offensive gestures or excessively beeping your car horn.
"Upon arrival, we start investigating these types of incidents, sometimes it does surface that road rage had something to do with it."
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office also says if someone is bullying you on the road, you should not respond to them, and also try to avoid eye contact.