Border Bridge Rage: Wait time frustrate drivers

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- As the holidays near, wait times at the international bridges between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez lengthen.

On a typical holiday weekend, wait times at major international bridges can span up to two hours.

If you cross the border regularly, you may have witnessed people in line fighting.

Borderland residents shared with ABC-7 different clips of fights at entry points. In some of the clips, ABC-7 observed a woman slamming a brick into a truck. In another, two men got out of their cars and began fist fighting between lanes.

ABC-7 spoke to Borderland mother Ariadne Lechuga as she waited in line with her young son. She told us her son's mental health has been negatively impacted by the long lines, in which they wait up to three times a week.

“It's really stressful... he is a young kid so it is hard for us to be lasting that long in line,” Lechuga explained.

Stress levels from being in traffic or in long waiting lines like the ones at the international bridges could be creating trauma in some of us, according to Sofía Reynoso, a mental health expert.

“The reaction that we have in our body can be very similar to that of being in a war zone or in a very very stressful situation where our body needs to prepare itself to fight or flight,” Reynoso said.

So this season, experts recommend practicing patience and courtesy while waiting in line. Try to use that time constructively by listening to an audiobook, a podcast, or talking to a relative, Reynoso recommended.

"One of the most important things is to slow down, literally, slow down. And be aware that you are not the only person driving,” she said.