Driven To DESTRUCTION
Road rage can happen to anyone, anytime………even you! Here’s how to get out of it alive
Road Rage is, I believe, an apt topic to wrap up the series on Anger Management. It is one of the most frightening ways in which Chronic Anger, arising largely form lifestyle stressors, seeks forceful expression in 21st century Urbania. What’s even more alarming is that, although this rampaging anger no our streets is surging in frequency and intensity by the day, most people have not yet woken up to the reality of what is going on out there and what it portends for us all. Yelling, screaming, swearing, gesturing, honking, insulting, cutting in front, blocking, chasing…….. you’re thinking that we’ve all done some of those things, but no one really gets hurt. You might be surprised at what is really happening on our roads.
What does it portend, for instance, when a popular skating instructor uses his vehicle to repeatedly run over, crush and kill another man with whom he’s had an argument over an incident on the road? Gruesome, cold-blooded ferocity like this is not an isolated occurrence. Here’s a spot selection of urban guerrilla warfare on roads since the turn of the millennium that serves as a microcosmic marker of the sickness of our times.
April 30, 2002:
Ravi Chaudhri, a businessman, was mowed down by a fellow motorist, Jagral Singh Sahney, who used his car as a weapon to crush the life out of Chaudhari.
Jagral Shingh Sahney, a skating champion, driving home after an evening out with his two young daughters and a visiting nephew, got into an altercation with Ravi Chaudhuri, a businessman, who was driving home with his wife after a dinner party in a hotel. What began as a verbal clash ended with Sahney running his car into Chaudhuri (who had got out of his own car and stood in from of Sahney’s Gyps in order to according to his wife prevent Sahney from “running away”). Sahney ran over a screaming Chaudhuri, not once but several times. Then he drove off home end life carried on as usual. He spent the next morning at a skating rink, retuned home by afternoon. It wasn’t until evening that the cops came calling. Chaudhuri had died of multiple fractures in his knee, ribs and skull. The provocation for this cold blooded killing: Chaudhuri had protested about his car being grazed by Sahney’s.
July 16, 2002
Jitndra Pawar, a 35-years-old, small-time property dealer, drivinng home form a local club, was beaten to death by five motor, cyclists, aged between 19 and 22. They pinned him down, attacked him with helmets and sticks, and threw a broken concrete block on his head; Pawar died on the way to AllMS. The provocation: The motor-cycle carrying two of the youths had hit Pawar’s Maruti Zen. Following an initial exchange of words, the duo intercepted Pawar’s car after he had set out for home. They were joined in the assault by three of their friends, and the five-strong attack culminated in the fatal head-strong attack culminated in the fatal head-bash with the stone.
May 2, 2003
Sunita Chadha, on her way to pick up her two daughters from their grandmother’s house, was fatally shot at twice by three youths in a car; she succumbed to her injuries in the hospital. The provocation: she had stopped her car on impulse and intervened on behalf of a scooterist with whom her three killers had been having a heated argument on the road.
January 22, 2004
A woman driver, identified in news reports only as “Usha”, opened fire on another woman, “Sangeeta”, a teacher n a local privet school. The latter was rushed to hospital with two bullet injuries in the stomach and chest. Her attacker later surrendered at the local Civil Lines police station. The provocation: a spat which had started when Usha, driving up form the opposite direction, hit Sangeeta’s car.
July 27, 2007
Rejender Dhawan, a 58-year-old property dealer, was brutally assaulted with hammers and screw-drivers by a group of Gurgaon call centre cab-drivers, following which he was admitted to hospital with multiple skull fractures and memory loss. The provocation: One of the drivers had parked in front of the property dealer’s shop in the morning; Dhawan had objected and a dispute had followed. The driver returned in the evening with a group f friends, in a car without a number plate, and brutally beat up Dhawan.
July 31, 2007
Three MBBS students, under the influence of liquor, attacked cardiologist Manoj Durairaj with a broken liquor bottle. At the time of the incident, Durairaj’s 7- months pregnant wife and two-and-a half-year old son were also in the car. The provocation: the doctor’s car had overtaken the students’ vehicle at Bund Garden Bridge.
September 17, 2007
59-year-old Suresh Sharma, a former army brigadier and Vir Chakra awardee, was beaten up by a group of 15 bikers while he and his wife were on their way back from a temple. The group of allegedly drunk, bike-riding youths, overtook Shama’s car perilously, then stopped in front of his car. One of the boys snatched the brigadier’s car key and opened the door on his side, while another youth boxed his left eye. He tried to fight them off, but being far outnumbered, was left bruised and requiring heavy bandages. The provocation: the brigadier’s wife had rolled down the window to chide the boys about their reckless driving; they had reacted by abusing her.
October 3, 2007
Roshan Jahan was beaten up with an iron rod by a mini-but driver after he had dragged her and slapped her a number of times; her husband, cardiologist Abid Khan, and hteir four-years-old son, A. Hamid, who were in the car at he time, were also assaulted by the RTV deriver in full public view. The provocation: Rohsan Jahan had got out of her car to confront the minibus driver who had come up in the wrong direction and almost collided with their car. Jahan asked him to move his vehicle; instead, he took up a rod and attacked the family.
October 19, 2007
22-year-old Priyadarshini Sule was dragged along a 15-metre stretch of the highway by a man driving a Swift, whom she described as “an elderly, fair-skinned, well-dressed, seemingly well-off man with grey hair”. The provocation: sule had got out of her car to have a word with this stranger whose car had scraped hers, leaving it with a wide scratch; he had been trying to overtake her vehicle despite there being o space to do so. When he made to drive away instead of apologizing, Sule put her hand inside his car and held on to the steering wheel and the window to stop him He accelerated and dragged her for 15 to 20 metres, then hit her chest in an attempt to push her off.
These are not isolated instances. Nor are the perpetrators of Road Rage certified psychopaths; very often they are people who otherwise appear to
The urban guerrilla warfare on Indian roads serves as a microcosmic marker of the sickness of our times.
Be leading a sane and balanced existence, successful men and women…… and yet they suddenly go ballistic, explode in impulsive, irrational (at times, heinous) acts. Millions of people are now known to experience “intermittent explosive disorder”, a behavior disorder its avatars it emerges as road rage.
Assaulting fellow commuters, sometimes iron rods, stones, pocket knives, hockey sticks and heavy canes all of these are a matter of record. Swords have been used to smash windscreens, rounds form revolvers have been fired in the air.
At one level, of course, it is possible to see Road Rage as the outcome of coalescing physical and environmental factors……. The exploding number of vehicles on the roads, the ever-shrinking road space, pot-holed roads, bad weather conditions and VIP movements that hold up traffic, sudden diversion on your regular route. In addition, pressure builds personal losses, financial stress, job problems, relationship issues, family conflicts and health issues.
But, between the guy who’s leaning on who’s readying to explode, lies an attitude. The fact that senseless road rage can and often does, erupt without reasonable provocation underlines the frightening phenomenon of epic intolerance the road rager is sometimes objecting not to someone’s errant behavior, but just to that other person’s being there in the first place. Out of my way, is what he’s saying! It’s an attitude that gives short shrift to the rules of the road, even less to driving etiquette. In one case, a young man on a scooter thrashed a couple, also riding a scooter, because he was enraged that they had stopped at the amber light instead of proceeding through it. Go figure!
There is no standard profile of an aggressive driver. While some do have histories of violence, criminal records or recent emotional setbacks, the growing roads are being attributed to “normal”, seemingly well-adjusted people, men and women with no prior problems. Interestingly, research confirms that we may all, at one point or another, be motivated to behave in ways consistent with that of a road rager.
Where Does It Come From?
Where is this angst coming from? A lot of it from lifestyle stressors. As people feel less ad less in control, more and more overwhelmed by the pulls and pressures in their lives, the steering wheel is becoming one of the few places there they can feel, literally and figuratively, “in control”. Aggressive driving can be seen as an attempt to attain power in an otherwise powerless existence.
There are also the multiple strains on the social fabric of our times. Among them: Oppressive social conditions that produce feelings of alienation in people.
- An over-riding focus on individualism that produces a “me first” mentality.
- A breakdown in manners.
- Add to these one or more flawed attitudes, and you have a seething, suppressed frustration that’s just waiting to detonate.
- Simply put, the driver’s seat has become a convenient launching pad for neurotic catharsis. As one traffic safety expert has said, it’s almost as if drivers climb into the anonymity of a vehicle, and then feel they can work out their frustrations on anybody at any time.
As for the faulty attitudes that drive this frustration, there may be one or several at work at any given point of time. For some drivers, the culprit attitude is one of machismo, and the road, for them, is an arena to prove their masculinity. The upshot: a show of virility takes precedence over common sense on the road, And it’s not only young men who flaunt this twisted attitude. In one case that was not without its droll side, two men, one of them a “senior citizen” aged 62, drove a kilometer and a half while cutting one another off and making rude gestures. After that, they decided to bring their silent discord out in the open. They stopped their cars, stood between the two vehicles and began to argue, then fight. Punches were thrown. The 62 year-old was knocked to the ground. He had a pocket knife which he used to slash he other man in the stomach. The 35-year-old left the scene, unaware that he had been stabbed, he was so pumped up on adrenaline. Their display of machismo ended in 13 staples for the younger man, and assault charges for the senior citizen.
Another destructive mind-set is the competitive attitude that seems to come so naturally to growing numbers of people aggressive driving is simply another expression of the me-first stance that informs their daily lives. We, see them everyday the road-racer, the tail-grater, the frequent lane-changer, the red-light runner. That urge to surge ahead makes it all-important for them to win a race on wheels, to challenge someone else to come out on top, or to bite the bait by taking on the challenge thrown by another driver.
For still others, who feel themselves stretched by ever-increasing time and work pressures, week-day driving is one of the last blocks of perceived wasted time. There is an over riding cultural focus on “time” as a limited resource, including concerns about “saving time,” using time wisely,” “being on time,” and “time being money”. Couple this with society’s becoming accustomed to instantaneous communications, and the problem becomes more pronounced. Some drivers continue working while behind the wheel, using cell-phone and dictating machines, which naturally distract them from the full-time job of driving. Some see the traffic ahead of them as an obstacle to overcome at any cost. This increasing premium that is being placed on time is causing many drivers to be much more aggressive on the road than ever before, specially during commuting hours. The faulty attitude here is one of impatience.
The anger and hostility apparent in road rage originate very often in fear the feat of being disrespected, unacknowledged, injured, violated, and losing control. These fears are closely aligned to the fear of being forced to compromise, sacrifice, or in some cases relinquish one’s identity. Research into actual road rage incidents suggested that, during the moments immediately preceding the eruption, the person perceives a threat to his/her identity. The concept of identity is grounded in basic, universal human needs, and when identity is threatened or denied, people tend to act in uncharacteristic and even harmful ways. For example, “Rohit” might perceive that his identity is invalidated or threatened by “Arun” when he tailgates, cuts him off, or nearly side-swipes his vehicle. Or, Rohit might feel that Arun is disrespecting his person when he honks his horn at him, makes obscene facial and hand gestures, or drives so slowly as to interfere with his need to be somewhere at a particular time. Rohit might then choose to respond to or to ignore what he perceives as a “threat,” The choice he makes will determine whether another road rage incident results or not.
In the end, we may well discover that it’s the attitude, much more than the infrastructure, that initiates and fuels road rage. Dealing with road rage then becomes a matter of perspective (A traffic snarl may be annoying, but it’s hardly “terrible,” World War ll was terrible,) of cultivating tolerance (A grazed fender does not constitute provocation for life-threatening violence), and if the other party is sincerely conciliatory, is it really so difficult to meet him/her half-way one fellow human to another?
Add to this certain practical, sensible steps hat you can take to pre-empt avoidable snags, and you’ll be well on your way to taming the raging beast. Here are some ways to get started.
Taming The Beast
1. Prevention is better than pique. You know you’re going to encounter speed demons, traffic snarls and parking problems. Plan you commute to factor in delays due to unpredictable caused. And don’t forget: you can’t control the traffic, only your attitude to it.
Alcohol, drugs or chronic sleep deprivation seriously impair you impulse control ability. Alcohol also acts as a depressant. And just one drink can induce fatigue. If you’re under the influence of liquor, or if you’re feeling drowsy or edgy, find other means of transportation or have someone else drive
2. Reduce your stress level, increase your comfort quotient. Increased stress leads to increased hostility on the road. Take pre-emptive steps to defuse the stress.
- Leave early and give yourself more than enough time to get to your destination.
- Check out the traffic advisory ahead or time, particularly on days when snarls or diversions may be expected on certain routes.
- Fill up with fuel before you’re running low.
- Improve the comfort level in your vehicle. Un clutter your car, make yourself comfy with back pillows, etc. Comfort is also enhanced by correct ergonomics. For instance, to ensure shoulder comfort, it’s important to tilt the wheel down. Holding the steering wheel in its highest position forces the shoulders to contract and hurt.
- Starting out with a becalming prayer or mantra won’t hurt either.
- Put office problems and home worries on the back burner for later.
- Learn relaxation techniques; they will help you handle traffic jams and similar situations where you would otherwise fret and fume.
- Before a long trip, give your vehicle a complete check-up. A stalled vehicle is guaranteed to ruffle the most steady nerves.
3. Don’t become part of the problem. The best way to cope with aggressive drivers is not to be one.
- Be a courteous driver yourself. Everyone has the power to set an example; use that power. Some ways that you can;
- Avoid inflicting loud music on neighboring vehicles.
- Use your horn sparingly around pedestrians, at night, around hospitals.
- Resist the impulse to start honking madly the moment the light changes color. (The few measly seconds your save will not make any worthwhile difference to your overall commute time.)
- Avoid stopping in the road to talk with a pedestrian or another driver.
- Avoid taking more than one parking space.
- Avoid letting you door hit the car parked next to you.
- Use safe driving techniques. Here’s a checklist (but it’s far from being exhaustive):
- Watch your speed limit. Forget about winning. No one wines in a road crash.
- Don’t tailgate. (Tailgating means you’re driving so closely behind another vehicle that you cannot stop or swerve with ease in an emergency). Tailgating is a major cause of crashes that can result in serious injuries.
- When entering traffic or changing lanes, make sure that you have enough room.
- Avoid weaving in and out of traffic. Whipping in and out of lanes merely to advance one car length ahead is risky road behavior and annoying to other drivers.
- Make sure you have established a safe following distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you.
- Use vehicle turn signals for all turns and lane changes.
- Make slow, deliberate U-turns.
- Make eye contact and signal intentions where needed.
- Acknowledge the signalled intentions of others.
- Stop for red traffic lights, don’t run them.
- Avoid rubber-necking, i.e., driving slowly by the site of an accident (or a place where one or more emergency vehicles have arrived) and turning your head to look on with curiosity. Slowing down to look at an incident is a natural human reaction. But it causes traffic delays, congestion and temper flare-ups.
- Avoid using your cell-phone while driving; it’s known hazard on the road. It’s also new a traffic offence in many Indian cities; some extend the ban even to the use of a hands-free unit. Engaging in stressful or emotional conversations on your cell-phone can be particularly distracting and cause you to engage in careless driving.
- Other distracting habits at the wheel are eating, drinking, primping, driving a car with a child on one’s lap.
- Approach intersections and pedestrians at slow speeds to show your intention and ability to stop. Yield to pedestrians.
- Use headlights in cloudy, rainy and other reduced visibility conditions these include twilight, darkness, fog, smoke, bright sunshine and snow.
- Maintain speeds appropriate for weather, light and road conditions. Use moderation in judging safe speed. Slow down enough to maintain a safe stopping distance, but do not slow down so much that you become a risk to drivers behind you.
- Do not brake abruptly unless it is necessary to do so for safety reasons.
- Don’t up the ante. If you find that someone’s road behavior is getting go you, consider your response options, and then go with the one that affirms emotional maturity rather than one that brings you down to the level of the offender. For instance, if someone’s tailgating you., the reasoned response would be to (as soon as it is safe) signal and pull into another lane.
- Don’t make aggressive or obscene hand gestures to other drivers when they offend you with their driving or when they make such gestures themselves.
- Avoid prolonged eye contact with an offensive or angry driver.
- Avoid challenging another driver-or accepting the challenge thrown by another driver. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone on the road. The way to come out on top is not by accepting the bait but by refusing to bite.
- Try to get out of the way of aggressive drivers.
- If You Do Get Into A Spot With A Road Rager
- Be polite and courteous, even if the other driver is not. Politeness quickly defuses the escalating tempo of toad rage.
- Don’t allow yourself to act reflexively. Taking a deep breath not only reins in that rush of stress chemicals, it also allows you the mental space to assess your options, enabling a rational response rather than an aggressive one.
- Put the other person’s behavior in perspective by making it “his problem”, not yours. He probably has things going on in his life that are causing pressure.
- Also, give him the benefit of the doubt. He may have been driving that way because of an actual emergency!
- Avoid all conflict if possible; remember it takes two to start a fight. Remind yourself that getting angry isn’t worth it. Would you want to lose your life over a parking space?
- Even presuming that you’re in the right and the other guy’s a numbnut (in your opinion), your stance and tone should be authoritative rather than authoritarian.
- Watch you body language. Avoid, for instance, talking to the other person with you hands on you hips.
- Give the other person space. Avoid making any move to touch him, even if you mean it as a conciliatory gesture. It can be misconstrued as any invasion of his space, even as an intended attack, and can provoke a hostile response, taking the situation into the more difficult territory of physical aggression.
- Never underestimate the other driver’s capacity for mayhem. Cars are not bulletproof, an aggressive driver will follow you home, and you’ve got to get out of your vehicle eventually.
- If you think things are getting gout of hand, get help. Call (or get a co-passenger to call) police. Don’t roll down you window, and don’t pull to the side of the road.
- And, when you’re off the road……. Discuss aggressive driving with members of your family, friends, colleagues, neighbors. We all need to look at ourselves to see if we are contributors to the vitiated atmosphere. (See the box, “Are you a Road Rager?)
- Habits of aggression on the road threaten not only your own safety and that of others, but also your emotional health and, in the long run, your physical and mental health, too. Whether you’re the victim or the aggressor, it’s a lose-lose outcome.
ARE YOU A ROAD RAGER?
It’s difficult not to give way to a Rambo-size rant when you get cut off by someone driving an aircraft-carrier-sized SUV who is chatting on a cell phone swerving a Gatorade and driving at erratic speeds. But even wanting to ram the daylights out of his fancy vehicle counts as Road Rage, according to the definition.
The signs and symptoms of Road Rage fall into four categories:
- Mentally condemning, or entertaining thoughts of violence toward other drivers.
- Verbally Expressing condemnation of other drivers to co-passengers in your vehicle.
- Not obeying traffic safety rules, because you don’t agree with them.
- Engaging in aggressive and risky driving
