INTRODUCTION:
A few years back in Aurangabad a scooter rider struck an Auto rickshaw. Scooter rider & Auto driver quarreled verbally, the scooter rider went back & brought his brother & friends with sharp arms. There was scuffle resulting in murder of Auto rickshaw driver and thereafter a Corporator was arrested and taken into custody.

Six months back an Auto rickshaw driver had a quarrel with a passenger near High Court at Jalna road, Aurangabad city .In that affray murder of driver occurred, passenger was arrested.

In the month of March, 2000 a scooter rider struck with a motor cycle and both quarreled which resulted in the murder of motor cycle rider consequently scooter rider was arrested.

    On 30th April 2000 in Delhi a skating champion's Maruti Gypsy grazed an Essar dealer's car, due to which two persons' quarrel started. Skating champion used his car as a weapon and attacked on the person of dealer, ultimately dealer lost his life & champion was behind the bars.
What is common in all above-mentioned incidents?

    In each of the above incidents which happened on road the persons involved were unknown for each other and unintentionally attacked the opposite party and unfortunately due to lack of proper mental control one lost his life another became accused. This is nothing but road rage. It is rage which appears all of a sudden due to an otherwise Insignificant provocation & results in loss of life.

CAUSES:

    The reasons behind these strange acts are innumerable.
1) Persons involved in the incident.
2) Situation
3) Society
   Let's consider the Person involved.
   Some persons have Paranoid Personality; such persons always see the events through their own perspective & feel suspicious about intentions of others. If such a person's vehicle collides with other vehicle he concludes that other person has deliberately done it and starts quarrelling.
   A person might be having Narcissistic Personality. Such a person is very much self-centered. His world consists of I, ME & MYSELF. Such a person uses vehicle as symbol of status or power, which is used for assertion. Super rich well-adjusted adults might be having this problem as seen in the Delhi incident mentioned above. It is reported that the skating champion killed the other person by crushing him with his vehicle. Most of the spoilt kids belong to this category; these young men possess high-speed vehicles, which they use to lure their girl friends & when in company of these friends their Adrenaline surge results in high-speed accidents & scuffles. Such scenes are quite common in metropolitan cities.
The person may be having antisocial traits. He may be short tempered. Such a person with low threshold of frustration tolerance gets excited soon & this results in a rage. In the first mentioned example it is alleged that the scooter rider had brought his brother & friends with sharp arms who killed the driver. Similarly in the quarrel between the scooter rider & motor cycle rider scooter rider killed the victim with the help of a sharp weapon.
Most of the time one or both of the involved persons are under the influence of alcohol . It is a commonly admitted fact that heavy alcohol results in release of all kinds of inhibitions. Hence an alcoholic easily gets provoked & acts abnormally. It is observed that half of the road accidents happen under influence of alcohol.
A person of these characteristics like 1) low intelligence 2) recovering from mental illness (Schizophrenia, Mania) 3) anxiety 4) sexual deviation (e.g. sadist, masochist, impulsive) may turn violent at anytime.
   When a person is very much tired he becomes irritable & may get provoked quicker as compared to a relaxed person, hence chances of road rage are more common at the time of sunset or sunrise because everyone returns from workplace severely fatigued.
   If a person had head injury or serious brain infection in the past, its after effects may result in loss of self-control, such a person may involve in road rage.
   While driving the vehicle person may be thinking about domestic frustrations or workplace problems. In such a situation if he is slightly provoked he displaces his anger on the cause of provocation resulting in a scuffle etc. In the incident of the Auto driver & passenger, the passenger might be having a case on that day due to which he was having worries. When he involved in altercation with the driver it resulted in outburst of anger on the driver.
   Let's consider the situation.
    When one person is driving wrong side the other person gets angry, because he feels the other person is committing a mistake & creating trouble. That happened with myself when I was on scooter with my family & a boy drove motorcycle fast & on the wrong side I felt a bit loss of balance due to this unexpected event & in an instant rage shouted at him. Both of us went away quickly keeping our tempers under control.
   When a person is driving with his family he gets provoked very fast because he feels that the other person may cause injury to his family. This is because of the survival instinct innate in all living organisms. It has been reported that in the above mentioned Delhi incident the skating champion was accompanied by his young daughters & a nephew while Essar dealer was accompanied by his wife & children. When the Essar dealer's car was grazed by skating champ's Gypsy, he might have got angry because of the thought of possible injury that could have happened to his family. According to Essar dealer's wife's account he stood in front of Gypsy to prevent the champ from running away. But instead of applying breaks, the champ drove into dealer (who hung on to the car) & then applied brakes sharply to throw dealer off the vehicle. The champ ran over him a number of times & then drove off. Champ's wife & sister maintain that he could not stop the vehicle because the dealer had climbed on to Gypsy with an iron rod & champ feared for safety of children.
   Weather may also play its role. During summer due to extreme heat & humidity everyone is irritable & remains at short fuse to explode on slightest provocation. During winter & rains most of the people remain indoor & even when out try to reach home safe, hence don't quarrel on petty things.
   Overcrowding also plays its role as it results in irritability & decrease in frustration tolerance. In such a situation everyone tries to reach at destination as early as possible & crowding results in delay in this. This may lead to frustration resulting in aggression or attack on slightest provocation like grazing of vehicles.
   Let's consider the society.
   Society is a big learning center where all of us keep learning throughout the life. According to Learning Theory of Behavior an activity which is rewarded tends to be repeated & an activity which is suitably punished tends to be stopped. Here society plays role in shaping the behavior of a person. If the assailant in road rage is quickly arrested, a foolproof case is made and he is punished then chances of repetition of such events reduce. However if the assailant goes scot-free due to his wealth, influence or power then such events may be repeated.
   Modeling is a psychological phenomenon in which a person emulates the behavior of another person whom he considers a role model. Young boys see advertisements of high-speed vehicles on T.V & in movies. They try to emulate the feats. In this adventure they may be slowed down due to realities .In such a situation they get irritated & resort to violence.
   Aggression is being projected as a positive trait to achieve personal goals; hence people tend to be aggressive on slightest provocation. Fights are considered to be macho.
   Lot of exposure to violence in reel life & real life has resulted in reduction in sensitivity towards pain inflicted to victim & his dependents. Hence people become violent very easily & take it as a fact of life.
   Lack of physical activity by youngster's results in a kind of store of unused energy, which can explode anytime. It has been hypothesized that aggression is also a basic human instinct, which is satisfied in a positive way in physical sports and activities. Hence moderate physical games are desirable.
   A person from a family background with alcoholic, rejecting, indifferent or violent father tends to turn violent at the slightest pretext. In contrast a harsh & inconsistent discipline may lead to rebellious behavior leading to violence on roads A boy coming from a broken home where, parents are constantly at loggerheads with each other, separated, or divorced tends to be frustrated & violent.
PREVENTION
As a phrase says prevention is better than cure, attempts should be made to prevent recurrence of such events. Prevention lies in understanding causes & removing them. As mentioned earlier the causes are in person, situation & society. Prevention also has to come at these levels.
   Let's consider preventive actions at personal level.
   Most of the time we try to change others, however the fact is it is easier to change self then to change others. Hence one should try to change himself/herself rather than trying to change others.
   Whenever you get involved in a minor road accident try to analyze whether it is your mistake. If so, say sorry & get on. If it is other person's mistake try to talk to him politely. If he says sorry stop the argument & move on. If he starts quarrelling just end the argument & move on. If you smell alcohol in the breath of the other person don't argue just avoid him politely. Don't pass sarcastic comments.
   If the damage caused to your vehicle by the other person is significant & if he agrees to pay damages agree on it. If he behaves rough leave the place & report to nearest police station. If damage is caused by your mistake say sorry & offer him to pay damages. Never try to hit & run. Police will catch you.

   Don't overestimate yourself. No one is above law, so try to be humble in case something goes wrong.
   While driving don't
*Listen to music,
*Talk on cell phone,
*See Video.
*Talk with co-passengers.
*Take alcohol.
*Try to act smart & cross the prescribed speed limit.
*Think about problems at home or at workplace.
If you are father of a teenager who is using vehicle tell him to keep his head cool on the road. Don't let him get intoxicated by your power, wealth or influence. If a person is recovering from mental illness, he is habitual offender or heavy alcoholic try to avoid giving him vehicle. During morning & evening times everyone is in a hurry to reach fast so please be careful while driving during these hours. Be extra careful during evening & night hours because by that time everyone is tired & irritable. A person with known history of head injury, brain infection, mental illness resulting in short temperament should be avoided. Let's consider preventive aspects of situation. When someone comes before you wrong side don't abuse or swear at him. Don't get irritated just pass a friendly suggestion " wrong side mat chala bhai"(Brother don't drive wrong side.) When you are wrong side say sorry & move on, don't argue. When driving with family tries to be slow & extra cautious, don't enter in argument with strangers. During summer take all precautions while going out, try to keep your body & mind cool. Avoid driving with family during peak traffic hours like morning (9to 11A.M.)) & evening (5 to 7 P.M.) .If necessary drive slowly with caution. You are not participating in a Formula1 race. Let's now consider preventive aspects to be taken by society as a whole. Society has a greater & sustained role to prevent recurrence of murders on the road. The most vital role has to be played by the law enforcing agencies. They should encourage & protect eyewitnesses to give evidence in court. They should make a foolproof case against the offender without fear or favor. Eyewitnesses should co-operate with police because if this time they are in need some other time they may need help. This will help eliminating the problem. The media should also play a positive role. High speed motors should not be Shown as sign of status & power in print or electronic media. Central Board of Film Certificate (CBFC) has to play an important role in preventing young generation from being exposed to aggression through films & electronic media. Young men should be encouraged to play physical games so that they use their energies in a positive way. In the hand of antisocial elements vehicles are weapons hence convicted hardcore criminals should be watched.
(Author is Consultant Psychiatrist at Raahat Hospital, Aurangabad.)