Road rage on a rise, experts call for restraint

Sandeep Rana
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 2

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With arguments, gestures or honking leading to bloody clashes on tricity roads, cops and road safety experts have called for restraint.

Yesterday, 43-year-old Kuldeep Singh was allegedly thrashed to death in a case of road rage in Zirakpur. In another case of road rage, a woman was arrested for allegedly attacking a 26-year-old man with an iron rod in the middle of road near Tribune Chowk last week.

“I think honking is the first sign of road rage. In western countries, you don’t find any driver blowing the horn. In India, every second car has rod or sticks in it. There should be some check on it as well,” says Harman Sidhu, a road safety expert.

He adds, “Road rage is a psychological issue. It has to do with our attitude and behaviour. If one is driving an SUV, he will look down upon others on the road. We should avoid gestures or eye contact with drivers. If other person is speeding, let him go; maybe he has an emergency.”

UT SSP (Traffic) Shashank Anand says, “Those at the wheel should have compassion and forgiveness for others on the road. Small mistakes do happen and should be resolved amicably. If the issue is serious, one should inform the police rather than taking law in one’s own hands. I appeal to people to be cool-headed and not get easily irritated while driving.”

Anand felt it is not that road rage incidents are rising as population and vehicle density has increased manifold in the city. “Avoid mindless honking; the one ahead of you could be helpless. At our end, we are holding road safety events through various camps and media,” he adds.

UT SSP Nilambari Jagdale says, “The Chandigarh Police have been dealing with such incidents sternly. Legal actions like registering FIR, arresting accused and seizure of vehicle are taken. In case of road rage against police officials, sections of law applied are even more stringent.”

She says lack of patience and compassion towards fellow travellers leads to such cases. It is disheartening that for small inconvenience, people even resort to inflicting critical/life-threatening injuries, the SSP says.

What they say

"The Chandigarh Police have been dealing with such incidents sternly. Legal actions like registering FIR, arresting accused and seizure of vehicle are taken." — Nilambari Jagdale, SSP, UT

"Those at the wheel should have compassion and forgiveness for others on the road. I appeal to people to be cool-headed and not get easily irritated while driving." — Shashank Anand, SSP (traffic), UT

"Road rage is a psychological issue. It has to do with our attitude and behaviour. We should avoid gestures or eye contact with drivers. If other person is speeding, let him go; maybe he has an emergency." — Harman Sidhu, road safety expert

Past incidents

• July 1: A 43-year-old man was allegedly thrashed to death by four unidentified persons near Gazipur Sanian in Zirakpur. Four persons arrested in the case. 
• June 25: A girl allegedly attacked a 26-year-old man with a rod, leaving him injured near Tribune Chowk. She was arrested. 
• June 23: Seven persons attacked a Haryana policeman and his family on Thapli-Morni road, Panchkula. 
• • November 14, 2018: Three men fired at four youths following a minor mishap on the road separating Sectors 17 and 22.
  • October 11, 2018: A video of DIG of Haryana Vigilance Bureau, who was allegedly roughed up and assaulted near Pinjore, went viral
  • September 10, 2018: Three men in two vehicles allegedly assaulted a Sector 19 resident besides misbehaving with his wife on the road separating Sectors 19 and 27.