‘Increased stress, impulsive nature results in road rage’
9 April 2015 4:49 AM IST
Despite the Delhi Police’s efforts to curb the menace by arresting over 350 culprits in 265 such cases between 2010 and 2014 (till November 30), road rage incidents have only increased in the past five years.
The latest April 5 incident, in which 38-year-old Shahnawaz was beaten to death in Delhi’s Turkman Gate area by five men in an i20 car after a spat over yielding space in a traffic jam, has once again exposed the high stress, leading to aggression among the people. Experts attribute the rise of incidents of road rage to “stress”. “It’s not about a metal disorder, it’s about the state of mind of people living around us...It is because of high level of stress in the society,” Samir Parikh, director of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences at Fortis Healthcare, said.
Parikh also said that it is the loss of human connection that is behind the road rage incidents. “We somehow have lost the human-to-human connection and easily lost control over ourselves. We don’t think about the consequences on others because the empathy towards them is less,” Parikh added.
From January to November 2014, Delhi Police registered 93 cases of road rage. A total of 53 cases were registered in 2013, as compared to 49 cases filed in 2012.
In 2011, the number of registered road rage cases stood at 34 and at 36 in 2010. This rising graph has left Delhi Police officers “helpless” despite their best efforts. “It’s very difficult to curb road rage cases as it depends on the mindset of the people. Everyone should remain patient while driving otherwise such incidents cannot be stopped,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media. “We manage to arrest the road rage culprits in a very short period, but still we have failed to stop repeats of such cases,” he added.
Delhi Police data also shows that 118 people were arrested in 2014 (till November 30). In 2013, the number of people arrested was 69 and 79 in 2012. The figures were 60 and 55 in 2011 and 2010.
The latest April 5 incident, in which 38-year-old Shahnawaz was beaten to death in Delhi’s Turkman Gate area by five men in an i20 car after a spat over yielding space in a traffic jam, has once again exposed the high stress, leading to aggression among the people. Experts attribute the rise of incidents of road rage to “stress”. “It’s not about a metal disorder, it’s about the state of mind of people living around us...It is because of high level of stress in the society,” Samir Parikh, director of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences at Fortis Healthcare, said.
Parikh also said that it is the loss of human connection that is behind the road rage incidents. “We somehow have lost the human-to-human connection and easily lost control over ourselves. We don’t think about the consequences on others because the empathy towards them is less,” Parikh added.
From January to November 2014, Delhi Police registered 93 cases of road rage. A total of 53 cases were registered in 2013, as compared to 49 cases filed in 2012.
In 2011, the number of registered road rage cases stood at 34 and at 36 in 2010. This rising graph has left Delhi Police officers “helpless” despite their best efforts. “It’s very difficult to curb road rage cases as it depends on the mindset of the people. Everyone should remain patient while driving otherwise such incidents cannot be stopped,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media. “We manage to arrest the road rage culprits in a very short period, but still we have failed to stop repeats of such cases,” he added.
Delhi Police data also shows that 118 people were arrested in 2014 (till November 30). In 2013, the number of people arrested was 69 and 79 in 2012. The figures were 60 and 55 in 2011 and 2010.
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