[carhead]

Its generally better to be defensive / backdown defuse the situation. I use the following tactics:

1 Count in reverse from 5 to 1 and only then speak.
2. Avoid eye-contact
3. Keep windows rolled up to reduce noise, dust (and chaos) ingress
4. hand-gesture indicating apologising largely defuses the situation.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

We are in this situation because of lack of enforcements. There are scores of people driving around without understanding basics of driving rules, not to mention about etiquettes. And since they are not facing any consequences from the authorities, it's a free run.
Alas, penalising for non availability of pollution control certificate for a 2 year old car is more important than all the above situations for them.

The other risk today is the cheap availability of used cars like Linea, Rapid, Cruze, and Audis in the wrong hands, which makes things worse on our roads. There is no regulation on used cars, and it is cheap fun until a bizarre incident happens on the road.

[neeravnaik]

I have noticed that there is special kind of insanity that grips the traffic mass as a whole during the peak office hours. People seem really frustrated and angry by default and they are in hurry to somehow go home and decompress. I have seen insane driving during this time on expressways like NICE or even normal roads. Things seem much calmer later. There are almost animal spirits in the air

[driftrookie]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Thats a difficult one as these are quick reactions to an action and not something which is pre-planned. One of the reasons I can think of is I try and abide by the rules to my abilities and expect others to do the same. For example, when I am driving, I try and follow lane discipline and get agitated when someone jumps the lane at a signal to move forward, and in the process blocks the way for oncoming traffic, creating a jam.


Not at all. These are the feeling we all go through on a day to day basis on our roads. Infact I try and tell myself and also family members to keep calm and not get worked-up by such incidents on road. To a large extent, I am at peace and in control of my emotions, but this High-Beam issues is my achilles heel. When I see one, I find it difficult to restrain and show my resentment.

I would go through this before. But you have to recognize the fact that these people are idiots. The most important fact is they don't have anything to lose, but you have a lot to lose. Once you get that mindset of you being the one in loss the behavior will change.
Always remember that anger will make "you" lose a lot.

[400notout]

In my humble experience, controlling your anger should not be very hard. We are more or less a community of “working people”. Whenever we are driving it’s usually from one responsibility to another. Be it office-home-friends-relatives-errands. To put it in simple mumbaiyya “mereko kaam-Dhanda hai”. On the other hand there are ample jobless/under employed people who don’t have much to lose. We on the other hand have plenty to lose.

My new Tata Nexon Ev has two small half a centimetre long scratches on the rear bumper One on the left by a biker who couldn’t brake in time at a signal. But I wouldn’t blame that poor helmet wearing “work going” guy as I had to brake suddenly so as to not topple an auto who appeared horizontally in front of me trying to jump a signal. There’s no point blaming the bike guy and no heroism in chasing the empty auto. I simply went ahead as if nothing happened when the auto cleared my way.

The second scratch is on my right side rear bumper caused by a dude in a Grand Vitara who couldn’t judge his bonnet distance at a signal. Now boxing is not my go to sport so i didn’t start something i couldn’t finish. And frankly what compensation do I ask for a minor scratch on bumper?

In another incident, I was on the wrong, as I cut in front of an ertiga at a slowdown. The Ertiga had few rural local folks who were displeased by my actions. When I saw them, the made a stern face at me with a question (what are you doing hand gesture). Now I simply folded my hands and admitted my mistake from afar to which they broke out into a forgiving smile and we went on with our way. A different attitude would have given a less favourable outcome.

I’ve observed we are usually angry or show our anger at lesser people may it be in size, shape, authority or some social classification. Rarely I’ve seen a guy picking up on someone bigger.

The best way to win a court case is to avoid one, same goes with a streetfight.

[MonsterTorque]

Originally Posted by deehunk

The other risk today is the cheap availability of used cars like Linea, Rapid, Cruze, and Audis in the wrong hands, which makes things worse on our roads. There is no regulation on used cars, and it is cheap fun until a bizarre incident happens on the road.

Pardon me if I have misunderstood the thought behind this post, but it comes across as a classist outlook. Wealth does not correlate with common sense or education, as seen in several instances like the Pune Porsche case.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by MonsterTorque

Wealth does not correlate with common sense or education, as seen in several instances like the Pune Porsche case.

There is no place for complacency if you have to set things right; wrong hands necessarily doesn't mean poor always, for our understanding. I am referring to those who don't wear helmets, drive on the wrong side, use mobile phones while driving, never use side mirrors/ indicators, jump signals, and hardly bother about insurance or pollution. This may sound unrealistic, but the root cause is their don't-care attitude about rules and regulations. These people may not give importance to worn-out tires, expired insurance, or fitness validity. I regularly travel on rural roads and often come across such people. It is not that they are poor or not educated, but they think it is a waste of money on a used car.

[Freespirit27]

Originally Posted by deehunk

@Freespirit27, As far as the video is concerned, I see a person resembling the IAF guy in the co-driver seat of Maruti car. So his wife may have driven the car and some passing comments has created the whole situation.

Eyes see what the mind wants it to see . Also I feel, its in poor taste to attempt to link it to the subsequent and unfortunate terror attack.

“A Time For Prayer

"In times of war and not before,
God and the soldier we adore.
But in times of peace and all things righted,
God is forgotten and the soldier slighted."

-Rudyard Kipling”

I'm not defending the either of the guys, just saying that road rage is difficult to explain. I find myself irritated in Mumbai traffic after coming from a tier 2 city. My opinion of Delhi traffic is on similar lines. It is not the case of who started it, but more of how we can avoid it. There is no use of any discussion forum if we just pass judgements and can't learn the right lessons.

[after]

Originally Posted by deehunk

What I realized was there is very little space for them on roads that are mostly bad

I had the same experience, when you're riding a two wheeler you suddenly become aware of imperfections on the road which you could just glide over in a car.

Even around Bengaluru's CBD which gets all the taxpayer money for development, many roads are randomly in pathetic state. For example, the road adjacent to Tonique near Chinnaswamy is dug up frequently, whereas it's completely surrounded by well-paved and well marked roads. I myself almost fell down here in front of a Tata Ace, due to a pothole which was totally filled with soft mud. As for roads in all other areas of the city, the less I say, the better.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by after

I had the same experience, when you're riding a two wheeler you suddenly become aware of imperfections on the road which you could just glide over in a car.

As for roads in all other areas of the city, the less I say, the better.

We all mature as we age or when we connect ourselves with ground realities. Even now, a few fellow members feel my reaction against the IAF guy was very harsh. I have gathered a lot of information about the incident. If somebody wants to know how,? My neighborhood has two PSIs, one ASI, and one ACP. We talk about many safety issues often during our morning walks. What was disturbing was that the couple were both serving in the defense; anyways, law will take its course of action.

[moralfibre]

Mod Note: Much has been discussed about the road rage incident in Bangalore. Please move on and let law take it's own course.

[deehunk]

It looks like this summer Bangalore is getting very hot; now a woman thrashes a man in public. The incident happened within Jeevanbhimanagar limits. A complaint was registered by the man; later, the accused woman was brought in for questioning. She has apologized for her conduct, which means she was the one who went into action mode and thrashed the driver and his friend, who shot her action on his phone. The reason for this rage, as per media reports, was that the man allegedly touched her car while reversing, but is it ok to end this with just an apology?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXNlur2Mdqo&t=20s

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

Irrespective of who is right or wrong, looks like the biker fellow got a bigger fish that day.
We are in this situation because of lack of enforcements. There are scores of people driving around without understanding basics of driving rules, not to mention about etiquettes. And since they are not facing any consequences from the authorities, it's a free run.

Meanwhile, in the WC-related incident, the Karnataka HC has directed the Bangalore Police to not take any coercive action against the WC, nor arrest him, nor submit a chargesheet without getting consent from the court. Legal experts on this forum can educate us if an accused can skip the lower courts in such cases and directly approach the HC to avoid getting arrested because the nature of the crime is neither exceptional nor a violation of any fundamental right by a state entity.

[AceCombatFanIN]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Team-BHP saved me from almost getting into a road rage.

I was on my way to work this morning riding on a motorcycle. On a relatively empty Bommasandra-Jigani road, a tata ace almost hit me. The road has some large potholes spread across at many sections. I was riding peacefully when the tata ace approached me from my left and suddenly sweavered right to avoid a pot hole. In this process he almost hit me, only to be saved by my guarding angels. I got angry and overtook asking him to stop. Parked the bike in the middle of the road, put the side stand down, got off and went towards the tata ace.

An absolute amazing job keeping your cool and situational awareness and I'm glad you were able to politely convey your point. I used to travel daily on Jigani Bommasandra road and its safe to say that somethings don't change.

[am1m]

With the increase in population density, such incidents are going to rise. When you are competing for resources, you slip in to a 'fight' mentality and that is always the situation on our roads today. Lack of time, unnecessary hours spent on the road, a deadline at either end of the journey. Driving/riding is stressful in any of our cities. Highway trips are also quickly becoming like that. With a car penetration still in the single digits, imagine the situation when more cars come in.

Having said that, I still think most people just adjust and manage well. A perspective from an American colleague long ago- he was from one of the states in the US where carrying guns was not frowned upon. And what he had to say was that if vehicles came as close to each other as they did here, back in his hometown, there would be shooting incidents on the road every day.

As a country, we're used to accommodating more people with lesser resources, and with amazing grace. (Most of us). While it is something to be admired, I don't think it is something to be encouraged. We need to think about de congesting cities, giving people the option to not contribute to the growing population (through better education and awareness), and certainly better public transport options and law enforcement. Most of all, anger must be directed where it belongs, towards our politicians (from all parties) because of whom our cities are in such a mess, and not at each other. We can't take this 'adjust maadi' attitude for granted.