Why do people honk at traffic signals?
Dr G Gururaj, head of the department and professor of epidemiology, NIMHANS, traces this to the nervousness and the anxiety of the drivers and is a rapidly increasing phenomenon in the urban lifestyle.

Dr Gururaj says the reason for aggressive driving is a behavioural problem. “Being hard pressed for time acts as a stimulus and there is an anxiety within his mind about things that he has planned for the day,’’ he said.

Considering the poor infrastructure of the city and irrespective of how early one leaves for his destination, he/she is bound to be stuck in madding traffic, the drivers try to express their inbuilt anger in a mild way by violating traffic rules or not following the ethics of safe driving.

“It shows the driver being uncaring, violent, which might evolve from the in-built frustration over a period. Honking at the traffic signal is a sign of insecurity and fear of the driver, who feels that the vehicle in front of him might not move even after the signal turning green, hence would result in loss of time,’’ he explains.

The only way to avoid rash and careless driving is to plan a trip in advance and keep a couple