Police in Bengaluru, the country's tech capital, are cracking down on road rage culprits by treating them as rowdy sheeters following a spate of such incidents reported in recent months.
"We have decided to take stringent action against such cases," Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda told Moneycontrol. "We haven’t observed an increase in such cases, but more people are recording these incidents through dashboard cameras installed in their vehicles and uploading them on social media sites. We are tracing these culprits and booking them as rowdy sheeters."
Many road rage incidents are said to have occurred on the city's outskirts, particularly near the tech corridors where IT offices are located, and often at night when there is less police patrolling. There have also been instances of offenders resorting to road rage as a means of extorting money from victims.
Madras High Court advocate VS Suresh, who specialises in road accident cases, expressed concern over the number of road rage cases.
"Stringent action is required against such cases and the driving licences of these offenders should be suspended. Normally, in such cases, the Indian Penal Code's Sections 290 (punishment for public nuisance) and 291 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), along with Section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act (dangerous driving), have been invoked," he said.
According to the Karnataka Police Manual, a register of rowdies, categorised as A (notorious, habitual offenders), B (moderately notorious), and C (first-time offenders but deemed a threat), is maintained for surveillance purposes.
Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara recently said there are 46,149 rowdy sheeters in the state, with 27,294 removed from the list since 2018. He noted that rowdy sheeters include those who harass women and female students, and engage in threatening/abusive behaviour, extortion, indecent actions, assault and other similar offences.
Recent incidents
There have been many road rage incidents in Bengaluru, the world's second-slowest city in terms of traffic movement, in the recent past (see graphics).
On August 5, two individuals were arrested after a road rage incident captured by a dash camera in Whitefield, an IT hub located east of Bengaluru.
A road rage incident that occurred within the Bandipur Tiger Reserve on June 17 recently gained traction on social media.
BJP leader and Shikaripura MLA Vijayendra Yeddyurappa posted, "The emerging road rage videos from Bengaluru and other parts of the state are worrying. The harassment and intimidation of individuals and families by hooligans on the road reflect the deteriorating law and order situation in the state."
An account on X, formerly Twitter, under the handle "ThirdEye (@3rdEyeDude)" compiles road rage incidents in Karnataka and tags traffic police officials.
Pruthvin Reddy, a tech professional who installed a dash camera, said that demand for such cameras, ranging from Rs 6,000 to 15,000, and advanced GoPro cameras starting at Rs 30,000, has increased.
"These cameras enable people to record road rage incidents as evidence for reporting to the police. This will also help to prove their innocence in case of an accident," he said.
Improving liveability
Ashish Verma, convener of the Sustainable Transportation Lab at the Indian Institute of Science, said the stress of driving in a city like Bengaluru contributes to impatience and conflicts among drivers. As part of Brand Bengaluru, he said, the state government is now focusing on improving liveability.
"But the social and mental well-being of citizens can be improved only if we promote public transport, pedestrian-only streets, vibrant spaces, and also promote active mobility like cycling. In public transport modes like buses and trains, we could make friends with co-travellers, which will add to the social fabric and well-being of life. But a seamless end-to-end public transport system is missing in Bengaluru. Walking or cycling is risky because of the lack of pavements and cycle tracks but such interventions are required to prevent road rage incidents," he said.
MN Srihari, a traffic engineering expert and former advisor to the Karnataka government, highlighted the growing levels of impatience and intolerance among motorists. He attributed this behaviour to factors such as mental tension and household conflicts. He called for awareness, especially during the process of issuing driving licences.
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