Road rage in Sri Lanka: prevalence and psychiatric distress

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Road traffic accidents are a major public health concern in Sri Lanka. Aggressive and reckless driving is an important contributor to the high rate of road traffic accidents. OBJECTIVE: We studied prevalence, nature, determinants and associated psychiatric morbidity ofroad rage among motorists in Sri Lanka. Methods Data were gathered from 238 randomly selected motorists in Sri Lanka using a modified questionnaire regarding road rage and the 6-item version of Kessler's psychological distress scale. RESULTS: While 98.7% participants reported being victims of road rage, 85.3% were involved in offending behaviour. However actual physical assault (0.8%) and damage to vehicles (2.5%) were rare. Male gender, young age, increased traffic density and driving a three-wheeler or bus were associated with daily road rage victimisation and perpetration. Psychiatric distress was associated with being a victim of road rage. CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of road rage in Sri Lanka and significant psychiatric distressassociated with it indicate the necessity of interventions at least for target groups