[anjan_c2007]

Dr Sailesh Pangaonkar, a famous Consultant Psychiatist of Central India was interviewed a few days ago by The Hitavada. He provided valuable findings based on his personal experiences over the years to prove why people exhibit certain driving patterns, describing how unresolved emotions can spill onto the streets.

He started with "Have you ever honked furiously at a slow moving vehicle or sped past a red light because you were in a hurry? Do you find yourself gripping your vehicle's handle tighter when someone zooms past you?" He answers his own queries by stating that road rage, reckless driving and general carelessness on the road are often dismissed as mere impatience or lack of discipline. But is there something deeper at play, he asks?

According to him, driving is a skill much like art, mathematics and public speaking. A good driver must have a good eye-hand coordination, visual-spatial abilities and emotional stability. The external environment's effect also mattered as well as distractions and a lack of situational awareness even among the pedestrians. Drawing an analogy between driving and an examination, he affirmed that driving is both a singular and a collective act. It's like an exam. Everytime a driver gets behind a wheel, he must treat it as a test of skill, alertness and ability to coexist with others. This is where individual responsibility meets societal expectations.

Categorising risky driving behaviour into driving skills, cognitive abilities, emotional regulation and personality traits the psychiatrist stated that certain cognitive errors and personalities make the persons prone to mishaps. Those undiagnosed or under-diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at a higher risk.

While analysing behaviour across different age groups, Dr Pangaonkar observed that youngsters who have conduct disorders, antisocial habits and a tendency to break rules often had signs of hyperactivity or learning disabilities during childhood. Such youngsters have difficulty in following directions and distinguishing left from right. Roads are a mirror which reflect individuals with low frustration, tolerance or psychological conditioning, tracing back to their upbringing. Even if one possesses good driving skills, these traits can compromise their abilities to drive safely.

Dr Pangaonkar highlighted a dangerous yet another often overlooked factor leading to road accidents- driver fatigue and the hyponitic trance effect. The driver though physically present behind the wheel but is disconnected from the road, leading to slow reflexes and delayed reaction times. Another point discussed by him was that for some drivers, overtaking another vehicle is not about reaching the destination faster, but a matter of ego. Speed gives them a sense of superiority.

The psychiatrist categorised reckless and aggressive drivers at par with anxious drivers. They all have roles to play in road dynamics. Anxious drivers tend to be overly cautious which can sometimes disrupt traffic flow. They hesitate, drive below expected speeds and second guess themselves, that can frustrate other drivers behind them. This creates emotional instability in others, provoking rash overtaking or aggressive honking. He is of the view that driving licencing procedures should integrate cognitive and behavioural assessments into the process alongside standard sensory tests to handle the real world, driving challenges.

According to Dr Pangaonkar, road safety awareness campaigns are conducted by various organisations, including the police department but their impact on long term behavioural change remains questionable. We in India as a society tend to listen and forget. He contends "It's like the pep talk given by a school Principal before the exams. People may acknowledge the importance of safe driving, but when they are back on the road, urgency, impatience and ingrained habits take over."

Lastly, Dr Pangaonkar suggested that road safety education should start from Class VI, where children need to learn that driving is not just a personal act but a social responsibility. "Most accidents occur due to a loss of sense that one belongs to the society. Many see law as a mere restriction, not as a protective measure," he concluded.

Our thanks to The Hitavada and Ms Vaishnavi Pillay for the press report.





Above:- the news clippings

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

He is of the view that driving licencing procedures should integrate cognitive and behavioural assessments into the process alongside standard sensory tests to handle the real world, driving challenges.

I am not aware of any country that has such assessments as part of the driver test? It should also be applied every so many years of course, as things might change.

But seriously, I got a private pilot license without any such assessments.

I do agree with the good doctor that road safety education starts at school, and to add at home with both parents setting good examples. I am not a huge fan of parents teaching their own kid. No matter what the topic, including driving.

It assumes we are pretty good drivers and skilled teachers. None of that is true. Statistically speaking. Although the doctor makes some good points as a total solution it is far removed from reality around the world and common good practices. Those common well proven practices include but are not limited to:

Driving is taught, mandatory, by professional driving instructors. Driving tests are real test, both the theoretical and practical test. Say at least one hour each under supervision of a professional examiner.
Traffic rules are enforced

Jeroen

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Driving is taught, mandatory, by professional driving instructors. Driving tests are real test, both the theoretical and practical test.

The problem with teaching another person to drive (or do anything else, for that matter - cook, dance, sing, speak a foreign language etc.), is that the instructor must first know the syllabus, AND also know how to teach. In the absence of (more like, abhorrence of) trained driving instructors in India, folks who have themselves self-learnt to drive for 3 years or so, are teaching minors how to drive - a case of the blind teaching the deaf how to draw colourful pictures.

In this scenario, in steps a psychiatrist whose domain expertise itself in the field of driving may be questionable, and he classifies every rash driver with road rage as a basket case needing his professional services to improve their mental health. One wonders where the psychiatrist himself learnt to drive? This is like the class 10 biology student telling the world he's a surgeon, because he's dissected a frog in class and watched a few YouTube videos of surgical procedures!

As a professional qualified driving instructor myself, I can definitely say it is not a case of widespread mental derangement on our roads, but one of people who don't know to swim being let loose in 20-foot deep waters. Instead of even knowing how to stay afloat (the driver's equivalent would be to drive in lane at the speed limit), they try to remain afloat by grabbing another person's hair and neck, expecting him to be the lifeguard and get him to shore (the driver's equivalent being jumping the red light and expecting the other guy to stop & ptevent a crash). Yet, very very few people in this country actually want to spend time & money to learn to swim/drive, never mind train enough to be a lifeguard/defensive driver.

[anay3000]

Can psychiatry explain why the faux-SUV drivers (looking at you creta drivers) tend to use high beams while driving on inner non-highway roads?

Can psychiatry explain the squiggly driving of faux sports bike riders (looking at you KTM ********) or the squiggly driving of scooter riders who think their scooter will fit into any and all gaps?

No. Some peeple are insconsiderate drivers. Not everything can be blamed on childhood trauma. Individuals with the most messed up childhoods can be sensible, well behaved drivers, who follow proper noise and light discipline. Not because of therapy, but because they themselves are good and nice.

[rohanshivi1]

The inspectors sitting behind in Germany during the Driving Test have an observation over the cognitive behaviour. They try to intimidate the candidates, for example, into taking a turn on the one-way lane in the opposite direction or passing over the lane on red or sometimes crossing 30 km zone at different speeds. These are all tactics to see how the candidate performs and if he caves in.

[Prowler]

They found a correlation between the IQ and the probability of getting involved in an accident. The higher the IQ, the lower the chances of accidents. Amongst other things a higher IQ also prevents one from landing up in prison.

Emotionally vulnerable people tend to have more aggressive driving habits eventually leading to accidents. Some vulnerable men can't allow anyone to over take them especially if the overtaker happens to be a woman. They would not do that if they face the person directly in person, but they become aggressive sitting behind a metal monster giving them a sense of power.
A confident person rarely has to prove himself and that shows in his driving.