Sun, 15 Oct 2000

Road rage in busy Jakarta: Blame it on adrenaline?

JAKARTA (JP): "He's heading south from Rodeo cross road. He just ignored the red light. The car's a dark blue 1989 Toyota. I need backup. Over," Brad, a street police officer yelled over his car radio.

He had been trailing the culprit's car for the last 10 minutes. But he could see the car ahead of him accelerating; creating thin wisps of smoke, shaped like a mocking clown. So Brad drove faster and faster.

A familiar car chase scene in L.A. that I watched on the BBC the other night. No, he was not under the influence of drugs. That was just the work of our mate, adrenaline.

In a lot of countries, traffic violence has come under heavy scrutiny. The brutalities vary from collisions between cars, vehicles and pedestrians to physical abuse between civilians and police officers. And people are pointing their fingers at adrenaline. Ignoring reasons such as inadequate education, lack of family values or plain immorality; no - it's a lot easier to blame the micro gland - producer of the good old 'get up and go' hormone. Hey, we'd never asked Mister Adrenal Gland to be stuck in there. This helpless scenario does eliminate a little guilt and responsibility over the ongoing war in this world.

There is one adrenaline control treatment center for blue- uniformed traffic officers in the United States. I'd say that we need more. Why? Because it is imperative for those people "in power" to keep their hormone fluctuations under control - brimming at a safe level at least. Having such an image and authority; those raging, irritating policemen with their loaded weapons would be the last people you would want patrolling your neighborhood. Or even worse, these people may take their rage home and victimize their families.

Indonesians are known for suppressing their emotions. This calm, polite persona is projected through out the country. But this image will be instantly shattered when you experience your first dose of traffic madness.

It's amazing either the pollution or lack of nutrition during childhood had ruined their adrenaline glands altogether or their bodies appear to be running on adrenaline and not much else. Emotionless chaos.

The noisy orange street bugs, some people call bajaj, motorcyclists, buses and even the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth vehicles driven by arrogant and ignorant drivers cramp every street in this city. God knows how on earth these people attained their driving licenses. As sometimes you can not find any difference between them and a flock of lost sheep.

A few typical situations are, first example: an overweight guy wearing a flawless Giorgio Armani suit stops his brand new Mercedes Benz in the middle of a busy road to have an argument with an ojek driver who apparently scratched his car. He doesn't care about the massive rush hour traffic jam he ignites; no - it's a face thing. Second example: people who cut across three lanes on a main road after a blind curve just so they can access the toll road a few meters closer. Third example: bus drivers who seem to consider every person standing on the streetside as an unofficial bus stop; which could happen every five meters. And my favorite: a dozen police officers block the highway to let the VIP of the day through uninterrupted, so that they would not be late for their dinner.

These inconveniences, plus the piling frustration, coffee and nicotine, after working the whole day for a bitchy boss, fueled by the carbon monoxide infused air from the AC and the insults from the street boys if you don't buy their colorful dusters or squeaky "tweety" and not to mention the screech performed by Guns and Roses from the car stereo, just can't make Mr. Hormone sit calmly.

What about the police officers? They are incredibly calm. They greet you politely and ask your licenses every time you violate their street signs like "Forbidden from 6.30 am - 11.15 am, unless during holidays and other important events or emergencies"; which is partly written in micro fonts. Bravo. The only hormone controlled bunch.

When there is a confrontation between road users, it will more than likely develop into a street brawl, or worse "the famous politically driven riots". People from all corners shamelessly join to participate. They find it an excuse to let out their own bafflement.

It's common knowledge that adrenaline intensifies emotions, which range from exhilaration to anger, depending on your state of mind and the surrounding situations. If the atmosphere is irritating, you will likely feel anger, whereas if everything is positive, you will likely feel happiness.

So it is up to our self-control whether we let our hormones dominate our emotions or not. We can manipulate our surroundings to be more supportive if we want to. Having soft background music, urging the street patrols to wear clown outfits instead of those dull brown uniforms (as if it'd make any difference), or having your vibrating phone close at hand would certainly help (but make sure it comes with a earphone and other appropriate tools).

Or maybe we should ask the government to put the establishment of adrenaline control treatment centers into their future state budget?

-- Aida Greenbury