Psychologist moots mental health certificate for driving licence

Press Trust of India

Bengaluru: With road rage incidents becoming frequent in metropolitan cities, including Bengaluru, a senior police officer has appealed to the people for 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 also be made necessary while issuing driving licence.

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

In Rajouri Garden area in New Delhi, a man was dragged on the bonnet of a car earlier 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 black and blue after his car brushed against a motorcycle in Dayalpur area of 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. Such cases are dealt very severely by police in Bengaluru city and cases are registered against them, 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."

"The Bengaluru traffic police has a series of campaigns, particularly to counter road rage. In fact, the Traffic Training Institute and Research Centre as well as our traffic warden admissions committee conduct a series of campaigns to educate people about good behaviour on the road," Saleem said.