Mental health certificate for driving licence?

A screenshot of the clip of the Bengaluru road rage incident, involving a man being dragged on car’s bonnet

With road rage incidents becoming frequent in metropolitan cities, including Bengaluru, a senior police officer has appealed to the people to show restraint and to call the authorities instead of taking law into their hands.

A prominent psychologist in Bengaluru has suggested that a mental health certificate should be made necessary while issuing driving licence.

The appeal came after two horrific incidents of road rage in a span of four days in Bengaluru. In one incident, a young biker dragged a septuagenarian for almost a kilometre on January 17 and in the second, a man was dragged on the bonnet of a car for over a kilometre on January 20.

In New Delhi, too, a man was dragged on the bonnet of a car this month. Delhi police said they arrested the accused and booked him under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code. Last year in November, a pharmacy owner was beaten up black and blue after his car brushed against a motorcycle in Delhi.

Pointing out that the two recent cases in the city had gone to extreme levels because of road rage, Bengaluru Special Commissioner of Police Traffic M A Saleem told PTI that people get into fights after accidents, which lead to heated exchange of words and then violence.

Police in Bengaluru city deal with such cases very severely and register cases against culprits involved, he added.

Referring to the two cases that turned the focus on Bengaluru, Saleem said: "These two cases are totally uncivilised. I can say these are heinous cases wherein attempt to murder cases have been taken up by the police and stringent action has been taken against the people who even assaulted the motorists."

Saleem also urged people to call police whenever they spot a possibility of trouble emerging on the road.

However, noted city-based psychologist Dr Geetha Appachu, who is the head of Swapreran, a psychological counselling and wellness clinic, said the problem lies with issuing driving licence as a small precaution regarding mental health of those applying for the licence would make people more comfortable while commuting on the road.

The road rage issue, according to her, could be related to displaced and pent-up anger surfacing on the road where people tend to feel like yelling at fellow commuters or pedestrians.

Dr Appachu felt there was a need to understand the underlying personality issues, which can be easily done.

"There are simple tests available which can be done in order to not just understand somebody's driving skill.

Yes, there is so much checking happening even for a driver's licence. But then, can we also bracket in a few more precautions that am I in normal, healthy mental state too? That will make us more comfortable on the road as well as everywhere," the psychologist said.

According to her, this will be one of the best ways to support youngsters who apply for licence after turning 18. "Today, it's not about affording a vehicle. It's about driver's licence coming with responsibility," Dr Appachu said.

20 Jan
Day a man was dragged on car bonnet

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever