When kids go astray on the road

Aditi Tandon in New Delhi

It has been more than two years since Sidharth Sharma, a young marketing consultant, was mowed down by a teen driving his father’s Mercedes through north Delhi’s posh Civil Lines area. A day after the tragedy, the CCTV footage of the act shocked the nation due to the sheer impudence of the crime.

A teenager had rammed his speeding sedan into Sidharth, who was crossing the busy residential road, unmindful of his fate. 

Sidharth was flung several metres into the air and died instantly. The minor driver immediately fled the scene leaving the vehicle behind.

The case hit national headlines for two reasons. One, for the first time it saw a juvenile being tried as an adult under the newly enacted Juvenile Justice Act that allows for trial of juveniles accused of major crimes as adults.

Two, since the 1999 hit-and-run case involving Sanjeev Nanda, the Delhi Police booked the reckless teen for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the IPC, which makes for life imprisonment or jail up to 10 years and fine. 

The teen's father was also booked for allowing his repeat-offender son to drive a motorised vehicle illegally, aiding in his irresponsible act. Two years on, Sidharth's father Hemraj Sharma is still awaiting justice for his son. Meanwhile, the alleged teen killer and his parents have moved on.

No lessons were learnt even after a young promising life was snuffed. Not much was done to make Delhi streets safer.

Again on March 9 this year, a 17-year-old killed an auto-rickshaw driver with his speeding Maruti Ciaz in the wee hours.

Since the year dawned, the Delhi Police has recorded 957 cases of traffic violations involving underage drivers. From 225 fines for traffic violations by teen drivers in 2015 to already 957 this year, the jump is noticeably sharp. In 2013 and 2014, there were 178 and 186 cases, respectively. 

"The scale of the problem is massive. We have now started recovering fines from parents who allow underage children to drive in violation of the law. Minors driving on roads and specially without licences is a serious issue. We have started road safety clubs with 1,200 city schools to help minors understand the hazards of illegal driving. We also take them to traffic parks to educate them about traffic rules,” says Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner Police (Traffic), Delhi Police.

However, statistics belie the police claim. Approximately there have been  20,000 deaths annually in India due to hazardous driving by minors. Conviction rates have, however, hovered at a low 25 to 30 per cent.

Hemraj Sharma recalls the apathy of the Delhi Police in the aftermath of his son's death. “I begged them to help me but they didn't heed.” The police has been often accused of not prioritising cases of deaths from underage driving. "He may have been someone's son or brother but for them, Sidharth was just another statistic,” says Sidharth’s sister.

A review of the existing laws shows these are quite weak. Under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, any driver below 18, if caught driving, can be fined Rs 500 with a possible jail term of three months. Vehicle owner or parents and guardians can be fined Rs 1,000. The pending MV Amendment Act 2017 proposes path-breaking changes but is stuck in Parliament. The Lok Sabha has cleared it but the Rajya Sabha has not. The law provides for criminal culpability of the juvenile driver and his parents, proposing jail terms for guardians who let wards break traffic law. The law clearly says only those above 18 can drive motorised vehicles in India. The MV Amendment Act proposes that the underage driver in violation won't be eligible to drive until 25 years. It provides for cancellation of vehicle registration for a year.

However, some police officials feel that's not enough. "We need zero tolerance in such matters. A juvenile driver in a crime must never be allowed to take the wheels again as is the case in the US.  He should be booked for manslaughter,” says former UP Police chief Vikram Singh. It is not as though the current laws can't be invoked to create deterrents for minors driving illegally or their casual parents. Lawyers suggest the police can book complicit guardians under Section 304, IPC, instead of Section 304-A IPC, a lenient section.

“Things are changing. We are increasingly seeing cases where parents of underage drivers who have caused harm through dangerous driving are being booked under Section 304, IPC, which provides for life imprisonment. Past practice has been to book under Section 304-A IPC,” says Supreme Court advocate Piyush Singh. The IPC's Section 304-A deals with death by negligence and says whoever causes the death by rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Meanwhile, road safety experts feel India needs to learn from the West how to deal with the menace of inexperienced minor drivers.

The US has the strictest laws in this respect. Research by the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals the risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16 to 19 year olds than among higher age groups. It says per mile driven, teen drivers are more likely to be in fatal crashes than older ones. The CDC also says that among teen drivers, males are twice at risk than females, teens driving with teen passengers are at a very high risk of crashes so are newly licenced teens.

The US runs a unique Parent-Teen Driving Agreement plan where the teen agrees to pledge to be a responsible driver, pledges to obey traffic rules and respect laws on drugs and alcohol or lose the right to drive depending on the severity of violation. India could try this, if only the parents agreed.

Fines Raised Under the New Act 

• Fine for drunken driving increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000
• For rash driving from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000
• For driving without a licence — minimum fine Rs 5,000 as against Rs 500 at present
• Fine for over-speeding will go up from Rs 400 to Rs 1,000-2,000
• Fine for not wearing a seatbelt will be Rs 1,000 as against Rs 100 at present

What the New Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2016, which also covers juvenile driving offenders, says

• The new Bill provides for a new Section 199-A, which says: Where an offence has been committed by a juvenile, the guardian or the owner of the motor vehicle shall be deemed guilty unless he proves the offence was committed without his knowledge or he tried to prevent it. Such guardian or owner shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years with a fine of Rs 25,000.
• Where an offence has been committed by a juvenile, the registration of the motor vehicle used in the commission of the offence shall be cancelled for a period of 12 months.
• Where an offence under this act has been committed by a juvenile, such a juvenile shall not be eligible to be granted a driving licence or a learner’s licence until he attains 25 years of age.
• Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, then such a juvenile shall be eligible to be punished by fines as provided in the Act while any custodial sentence may be modified as per the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act 2000.