Poor traffic policing turns temper trigger

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Road rage yet again took a toll on the city — a 28-year-old employee of a private company at Vikaspuri being its latest victim. And a survey substantiates the growing menace by revealing that 70 per cent lose their temper due to choked roads and poor traffic management on the Delhi roads. The survey further states that women were found to be high on aggression and exhibited feelings of irritability while driving, but their expression of anger is different from men. Although women have been tagged as bad drivers, they’re hardly involved in any case of road rage. Women responded by verbal abuses and showed irritability, while men were more apt to take to violent measures, the survey states.
Agrees Rajan Bhagat, PRO, Delhi Police, “Although women are believed to be rash drivers, there are hardly any reports of women being involved in road rage. For every 10 incidents of men being involved in road rage, there is just one case of woman, and that too is rare. It’s mostly men who tend to lose their temper.”
City’s young women drivers and working professionals too agree with the findings. Says Garima Vats, a college student, “I personally don’t use any cuss words or get into any argument, until someone who doesn’t know how to drive bangs into my car. Men often get violent on trivial issues. I’ve seen people stuck in jams abusing each other. And such behaviour needs to be curbed to bring down the cases of road rage on Delhi roads.”
Kuljeet Singh, a housewife, too feels that her husband is a more aggressive driver than her. Narrating one such instance, she says, “Once when we were out for a family function, we almost met with an accident as a car driver took a wrong turn and stopped right in front of our car. My husband got out and slapped the other driver and there was a major fight.”
It’s one thing to analyse whether men shout at each other or women hurl abuses, but what’s the solution? Veta Ratra, a PR professional, quips, “Problem lies in the fact that roads get choked and traffic management is poor. There should be proper traffic management.”
To tackle road rage, personal management is important too, say experts. Rajat Mitra, clinical psychologist, says, “It depends on a person’s personality. Some people are explosive and then there are others who don’t get angry at all. Firstly, before indulging in any violent behaviour, people should think of the consequences, which can be disastrous and can lead to death. Meditating and breathing exercises also help in bringing down anger. Listening to soothing music while driving is also effective. Planning in advance is also important. One should avoid rush hours and take alternate routes. Also, government should make it a rule for driving schools to offer anger management classes during its training period.”