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Despite challans, no letup in underage driving in city

Box 425 challans from Aug so far From August to September last year, the city’s traffic police issued 204 challans for underage driving, followed by 165 between September and November and just 56 since December till now. Police officials believe...
City police conduct a special drive against in Jalandhar.
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Box

425 challans from Aug so far

From August to September last year, the city’s traffic police issued 204 challans for underage driving, followed by 165 between September and November and just 56 since December till now. Police officials believe the decline in challan reflects a growing awareness among violators. Additionally, over 100 challans were issued to school vehicles, including buses, vans and auto-rickshaws, for traffic violations

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Despite issuing 425 challans since August last year under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, underage driving remains rampant in the city. Schoolchildren riding two-wheelers and triple riding are frequent sights, showing that enforcement measures have had little impact on offenders and their parents.

The amended Act mandates fines of up to Rs 25,000 and FIRs against parents or guardians of underage drivers. However, enforcement has been hampered by delay in updating the Regional Transport Office’s (RTO) software, forcing RTO office to collect a fine of only Rs 5,000 — much lower than the stipulated penalties.

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From August to September last year, the city’s traffic police issued 204 challans for underage driving, followed by 165 between September and November and just 56 since December till now. Police officials believe the decline in challan reflects a growing awareness among violators. Additionally, over 100 challans were issued to school vehicles, including buses, vans and auto-rickshaws, for traffic violations during the period.

Senior traffic police officials say their strategy prioritises educating parents and young riders over strict enforcement. “Our goal is to make parents understand the dangers of underage driving instead of penalising them heavily. Creating awareness is a long-term solution to the problem,” said a senior officer.

However, many residents argue that leniency dilutes the law’s purpose. Gurdeep Singh, a city resident, said, “Until parents are forced to pay Rs 25,000 for their child’s mistake, these rules will have no real effect. Small fines don’t work as a deterrent.”

Meanwhile, Jalandhar Regional Transport Officer Balbir Raj said, “We are still working with the old set-up and have already written to the higher authorities for updates, but there has been no communication so far.”

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