What is road rage?
Road rage is an incidence of violence perpetrated by road users, stemming from differences that arise in the course of the shared use of roads. Such differences may involve aggressive and ungracious acts of driving such as honking, tailgating, speeding, making angry gestures, preventing a vehicle from changing lanes, etc.
In PP v Lim Yee Hua, the Honorable High Court Judge Justice Chan Seng Onn states at paragraph [29] that
“…ungentlemanly conduct arising in the course of the use of the roads, bad driving, breach of road traffic rules on the part of the victim and even serious traffic accidents caused by the victim would be insufficient to amount to provocation that justifies any act of causing hurt to the victim (or, indeed, any act of mischief causing damage to the victim’s property)”
In fact, such violence will attract the deterrent sentencing policy underlying road rage violence, resulting in an enhanced sentence which is characteristically stricter than one that only considers the other circumstances relating to the particular offence committed.
The rationale behind such a deterrent policy on road rage violence was outlined by ex-Chief Justice Yong Pung How in PP v Lee Seck Hing.
[12] “… The court must also be mindful of the need to deter anyone else who would resort with impunity to violence on the roads, especially in view of the deplorable increase in such incidents. Our roads are progressively becoming more crowded each month, as more and more cars add to the traffic, and motorists must simply learn to live with one another. There can be no place on our roads for road bullies. Such persons must be made aware of the severe detestation the law expresses in regard to such crimes…”
Offenders of road rage violence will face charges under Section 323 to 326 of the Penal Code (Cap. 224). As highlight earlier, the sentence that they receive for the aforesaid charge will more severe given the element of road rage involved in the offence.
For more information, please contact our criminal lawyer, Raphael Louis, at 9090 8288.