Angry drivers taking the road to perdition

"After we passed the examinations, we still had to spend six months driving as interns, with an instructor sitting next to us every time we drove. But nowadays, only 27 hours of training are required for each candidate before taking the test," he said.

"Meanwhile, it was also very expensive to learn to drive 30 years ago, the tuition fee for each learner was about 10,000 yuan in those days. Although the money was paid by the learner's company, it was far more expensive than the fee of 4,000 yuan-plus charged nowadays," he added.

The poor traffic flow in the nation's larger cities is also exacerbating the situation. A survey conducted by the news office of the Shanghai government in late December found that 48.1 percent of road rage cases were caused by congestion, 39.8 percent by witnessing other people's illegal driving and 29.7 percent by overtaking.

An extension of the ego

However, Ye Bin, a psychologist and chief adviser of the Shanghai-based Linzi Counseling, said that there is no such thing as road rage. "Aggressive driving is closely associated with the driver's general temperament, particularly those who are short-tempered or easily irritated," he said.

"Driving is considered to be an extension of the ego. When one drives, no other person is really watching. Without supervision, it is easy for the driver to demonstrate their true personality, meaning that drivers may do something against the rules or regulations. Meanwhile, motorists often experience an attack of nerves when they drive, leading to a rush of adrenalin. As a driver becomes more excited, he is more prone to aggressive behavior. Traffic congestion may make things worse," he added.

In Britain, Finland and South Korea, drivers undergo psychological evaluation every year. Only those who pass the tests are allowed to continue driving. It is now being suggested that China should adopt a similar system of evaluation, but Ye argued that this would be very difficult to instigate initially.

"To establish a scientific evaluation system, we should first of all have a complete database concerning every fact about road rage over a certain time period. The statistics are supposed to be released by the traffic police, but so far we haven't seen any official statistics," said Ye.

"Even if such evaluation were implemented, we cannot avoid the possibility that some people will already know the answers needed to pass the test. In this sense, the test is meaningless," he said, adding that drivers have a responsibility to work harder on controlling their emotions to help avoid accidents.

"The degree of danger increases when the driver accelerates. And you won't know if the person you have annoyed, or who has upset you, has mental problems," said Ye.

Hua, the driving instructor, counseled that drivers should try to banish all negative thoughts when behind the wheel. "What's the point of chasing each other or forcing the other car out of your lane? I always remind my students of one rule: Pedestrians give precedence to automobiles, automobiles to automobiles, and automobiles to pedestrians. If everyone bears that in mind, everything will be peaceful," he said.

That simple message was echoed by Lu Feng, an officer with the Shanghai Police Bureau: "In terms of anger management, it is really up to the driver to control his or her emotions. However, once on the road, it's better if we give precedence to others, simply out of courtesy and thoughtfulness."