Traffic Police to educate parents against underage driving by school students

block: Parent-Teacher Meetings

Advertisement

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 27

The Police Department is contemplating to embark on an awareness drive for the parents of schoolgoing students against increasing instances of juvenile driving.

As a part of the drive, the parents will be approached during the parent-teacher meetings (PTMs) in the schools and will be sensitised on the issue. They will be motivated to discourage their wards from driving on roads.

“Allowing a minor to drive a vehicle, which is owned by his/her parents, is a crime under the Motor Vehicles Act. There are certain sections in the Act under which parents could be held responsible and attract punishment under the IPC in case the vehicle meets with an accident while being driven by the minor,” said Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh. He said the driving force behind the drive was to make the parents aware about this.

Underage driving has become a serious problem in the city with a lot of schoolgoing children seen driving two-wheelers against traffic norms. They do not even follow traffic rules and regulations and indulge in triple riding and hardly care about wearing helmets. They can also be seen riding their bikes or scooters at a very high speed. There have been instances in the past in which schoolgoing children lost their lives because they were riding motorcycles at a high speed.

Though the Traffic Police launches campaigns to take stern action against the offenders, political intervention paralyses policemen's functioning. In a recent incident, a traffic policeman was manhandled by ruling party leaders and that, too, on the premises of the office of a senior police official. His only fault was that he had challaned a youngster for flouting traffic norms.

The only way to end the menace of juvenile driving is to spread awareness among the children and their parents, so that they desist from this habit, said the Police Commissioner. The traffic policemen, too, have been asked to adopt zero tolerance against traffic violations.