When you imagine a busy Indian road, what comes to your mind? If you asked us, we would remember two people quarrelling because of some minor accident. This is what we call road rage in formal words. It is so common in our country that somehow, we don’t even find it strange. In a country where insurance is mandatory, people ironically prefer to fight with the other person than make a claim with the insurance provider.
Stats on Road Rage
If we go by the numbers quoted in recent studies, 60% of Indian drivers claimed they feel anger while driving and 30% said they react in an aggressive manner.
In an address to the Lok Sabha, the Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari told that the number of road rage and rash driving cases in 2019 was 1.55 lakh. This jumped to 1.83 lakh cases in 2020.These were up to 2.15 lakh In 2021.
Road rage incidents have been increasing in India by a massive 7% every year, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Since many fail to account for these cases, they don’t even appear in the figures. Moreover, there are also claims that over 30% of drivers behind the steering of commercial and goods vehicles do not obtain licenses. As a result they barely have any information on traffic rules and safety.
Additionally, there aren’t many recent studies that show the accurate figures on which cities saw the most road Rage incidents. There is a stat from 2015 though that Shows Kerala had the most road Rage incidents, followed by Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. Karnataka, which was on the 4th spot back then, has seen a surge in road Rage. There have been multiple cases from the state that came into the limelight. The reason behind this might be the increased congestion in cities like Bangaluru.
Possible Reasons Behind It
There might be many reasons that cause road rage incidents in India. It comes down to majorly two major factors: human behaviour and infrastructure. The reasons mentioned below revolve around these two factors:
Immense Traffic could also result in Road Rage:
We all know this: Try to go through the roads of any major city in the peak hours, and it becomes a living hell. This increased time spent in cars after or before a long day’s work contributes to car drivers losing their cool. The bottled-up anger eventually leads to a raging reaction to even small errors made by other drivers.
Aggressive Driving:
Do we even need to explain this? Everyone wants to go first. Waiting? What is that? We see people lane-cutting, honking tirelessly, or trying to fit their vehicles in the tightest spaces. This behavior of some drivers leads to the others reacting furiously, and we are back to road rage.
Lack of Civil Sense:
We are a country where people are well educated, but are they wise? Even stopping at traffic lights is done with a condition. Police are present; stop. They are not, go. Not only this, they go the wrong way, drive with high beams, throw junk on roads and more. These things eventually lead to some or the other kind of road rage.
Poor Condition of Roads:
One rain and the road has craters like the moon. Road signs are unreadable, and lane markings fade away. When the road itself is not fit for driving, how can we expect people to stay completely calm?
Mental Fatigue:
We live in fast-moving cities. People have stress and anxiety in immeasurable amounts. The same people are behind the wheel, just trying to reach home. When there is a hiccup, however small, there are chances stress gets the better of them. Now, while this isn’t an excuse to act irresponsibly, it surely is a contributing factor.
How Can We Counter Road Rage?
Road rage is a complicated issue, and we might never get absolutely rid of it. That being said, we can play our part in trying to reduce it. The following ways might bring the road rage numbers down:
Better Trained Drivers:
The most important step is improving the quality of driving. Germany could be an example here. Their Autobahns have no speed limits at places and yet are considered safe. How? A big reason is that the drivers are well trained and follow the rules. This could start in India by making sure the driving tests are conducted stringently. The culture of any layman getting a licence through brokers needs to end.
Better Roads can avoid road rage:
It goes without saying that having the best drivers won’t help if the roads are bad. The condition of roads, especially in crowded areas, needs to improve. They need to fill potholes and ensure the markings are clear.
Better Rule Implementation:
Some years back, the government announced a massive hike in road Challans. The idea behind it being a fear among people. Did it improve things? Maybe in the short term, but it’s all back to normal. The frequent implementation of these rules could be a reason behind it. People still get away with many violations with no repercussions. This needs a major overhaul. It could happen by deploying both personnel and tech. A hand collaboration of these two pillars might lead to reduced road rage.
