Roadrunners 2.0: Decoding reasons behind road rage

You remember when somebody cut you off while driving, taking a sudden right or left without any indication? Or when someone stopped suddenly or worse slowed down because he was on the phone, changing the music. Or when someone lightly scratched your car when overtaking? Or when someone occupied your parking bay. If you look back, you would possibly laugh at these incidents, but at that point of time, they must have got you all excitable. It is definitely not easy channelising the Zen within and be equanimous when this happens.

"Road rage is not exactly a rare thing," grins well-known psychiatrist Dr Rajendra Barve. "Given that more than half the deaths in road accidents in the world happen in India, it shouldn't really surprise anyone that most drivers behind the wheel carry a lot of pent-up rage within. Every time someone invokes Gandhi or Buddha to make Indians sound pacifist, I want to show them how aggressively we, as people, drive."

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According to him, in most cases, those exhibiting road rage suffer from an intermittent explosive disorder. "Such individuals will go from calm and quiet one moment to paroxysms of rage in an impulsive, aggressive manner. They can get abusive both verbally and/or physically far, in excess of the reaction needed in the situation. Often road ragers also have a history of indulging in domestic abuse, willful destruction of furniture or objects and a temper which can leave everyone around traumatised," he says and adds, "And the astonishing thing is even while perpetrating all this, the road rager whose emotional brain takes over his thinking process stops thinking of the person he is confronting as human and capable of mistakes. When hurling profanities mindlessly, his brain thinks of the other person almost like an object."

Only human to feel outraged

Others like Kiran Sachdeva, a practising counsellor, who is also a doctorate in Social Psychology admits it is only human to occasionally feel such impulses. "But instead of becoming mindful and aware if you act on it then, it is pathological and ends up with consequences (medical, financial, legal) for both the individual and others."

While underlining how nobody should defend or find excuses for road rage, she says, "One cannot discount how overcrowding, inadequate and poor road network riddled with potholes, signals on the blink and missing traffic police create a fertile ground for such behaviour. The logistics and social situation creates the inflammable situation. After that, all it often needs is a small spark."

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She also says that parents who try to compensate for the time they can't give their children, end up indulging them with cars and easy cash. "Drugs and/or alcohol only numbs reasoning in the youth further. Validation or attention deficiency can mean that they seek to undertake unnecessary risks under peer pressure or give them a feeling of being in control. In that age, when they come across anyone trying to stop them, they only react with aggression. More road ragers are young, selfish, power hungry, angry, and vindictive individuals who seem to set out wanting to get into confrontations. Having a person like this behind the wheel is a recipe for disaster."

While agreeing with her, Dr Barve says such individuals not only come with inflated egos as large as their vehicles but often see the car/truck as an extension of their own personal space. "It's like those fights which start on packed local trains over how someone is standing or how someone's hand touched someone's nose. The road rager simply feels he needs vengeance for what he thinks is 'infringement of his personal space.' Actually, that's all he is thinking about."

Avoid traffic, avoid conflict

Both Barve and Sachdev say it is best to leave a bit early so that the occasional delay will not fray your nerves. "Not only is it best to avoid driving when drunk in the interest of your own safety and the others in the car, but it is also not advisable to drive if you are sleep-deprived since your mind is not working at its optimum."

Sachdeva suggests using incense, soothing music, soft toys or photographs of your loved ones to keep you relaxed and positive. "It will keep reminding you of home and getting back and prevent you from flaring up."

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Sachdeva also says its better to let the person being confrontational and aggressive go their way. "Let them get ahead, change lanes if needed. Rude and obscene gestures are best ignored. Responding will only make it worse."

Barve rounds it up beautifully. "Do not consider it your bounden duty to reform all bad drivers in the world and teach them road etiquette. If they want to learn it the hard way, who are you to stop them?" he laughs.