Moving on from sleep-overs and late night ice creams, young college-goers in the city have found a dangerous new way of having fun after dark. In an alarming new trend, college students are upping the thrill factor by slipping out for a night of fun after their folks are asleep and returning before they are up next morning. This became evident after seven first-year college girls were involved in a 3 am smash up on the East Coast Road, in which one was killed.
Shalini (name changed), student of an upmarket women’s college in the city, says, “Earlier, to have a sleepover, we would tell our parents it was for group study or project work. That was sneaky enough for us. But these days, that doesn’t seem to be enough; youngsters find sneaking out more challenging and therefore more exhilarating. The more often one sneaks out, the more ‘cool’ you are.”
The disturbing part of the trend is that parents are blissfully unaware of what their children are up to. Shalini says most of the time, these meetings involve alcohol. While in the case of the seven girls, the driver of the car was not under the influence of alcohol, it is quite clear that they were under a certain amount of pressure to get back home in time. “All the girls lived in Kilpauk and the accident happened on ECR around 3 am. They must have been in a tearing hurry to get back,” she says.
A high-end car (Hyundai Verna, in this case), capable of reaching high speeds, only adds to the risk. “Most often the vehicle is overcrowded, making the drive even more risky,” Shalini added.