Take actions to prevent road rage

A male driver beat a female driver badly under an overpass in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Sunday afternoon, simply because the female driver abruptly switched her car from the fast lane to an exit on the expressway. The female driver’s dangerous driving style forced the male driver on the middle lane to slam on his break. To take revenge, the male driver chased the female driver in his car and forced her to pull over after a three-minute road race.

The video recorder on the male driver’s vehicle recorded the furious driving styles of both drivers. The male driver’s little daughter was scared to tears while her father became hysterical during the car chase, as the female driver was also exasperated by the man’s aggression. The two drivers cursed each other as they drove shoulder to shoulder in the dangerous race that scared several cyclists nearby.

The male driver broke the female driver’s rib and caused her to sustain a light cerebral concussion and bruises on her body.

He has been detained on suspected violation of criminal laws. In an even more worrying trend, many netizens supported the male driver’s behavior, saying the female driver should be educated in this way. Female drivers were even attacked as a group.

This is a worrisome social mentality that sides with random violence and stands against common senses and the rule of law, says an article by Beijing Youth Daily.

Similar incidents tend to lead to road rage. Some even lead to fatal violence, and pose a great threat to public security. China is the largest manufacturer and market for automobiles. The number of cars on Chinese roads increased tenfold in the past decade. But many drivers’ driving styles, road manners and awareness of safety lag far behind the infrastructure provided for a mature motoring society.

The government and judicial authorities should pay special attention to prevent road rage, whose perpetrators may be law-abiding, educated professionals from all walks of life. But when they sit behind the wheel, emotions take over and they disregard others and the rules of the road.

The media and authorities need to raise the people’s awareness of traffic safety and cultivate the people’s respect for life. The authority should raise the requirements to obtain driving licenses, as many new drivers cannot in fact cope with emergencies on the road.

Besides, the traffic police should strengthen enforcement of laws and raise the costs of actions which infringe the law.