BENGALURU: On Friday, February 13, parents of seven youngsters, including five minor boys, woke up to the most painful news of their lives. Till the police called them, the parents were under the belief that their children were at home and sleeping in their rooms. The horrific accident happened on the access-controlled Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) expressway between Hoskote and Devanahalli near Kambalipura, between 4.30am and 4.45am, involving a brand new XUV700, a bike and a Canter. Shockingly, the person driving the XUV was a minor boy aged 17.
After this incident, the police department has kept a strict vigil on underage riders/drivers. Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh has warned parents not to give vehicle keys to underage children.
“Driving below the legally permitted age is a violation of the law. Parents who fail in this are directly or indirectly, contributing to serious and sometimes fatal road accidents. The recent tragic accident near Hoskote underscores the gravity of the issue,” the commissioner said.
To address such issues, a topic on road safety has been included in school textbooks. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Karthik Reddy said special drives have been conducted since Tuesday. He added that any vehicle found being driven by a minor will be seized. The vehicle owner and parent will be produced before court, and appropriate legal action will be initiated.
PH Rane, Chief Traffic Warden, said underage riding/driving is a serious issue. Minors do it after getting influenced by watching videos on social media. “Our 100-plus trained traffic wardens, along with traffic police, go to schools and educate children about traffic rules and regulations. One topic they focus on is underage riding/driving and its consequences. I have instructed all traffic wardens to list out the names of schools in their areas.
Then we speak to the principals or managements about conducting traffic programmes. Classes on traffic awareness will be done immediately after the commencement schools. There is an engineering division which makes drawings of accident spots, which will be shown to students during the programme. Parents’ role in this is important. They must keep vehicle keys in their custody, and monitor the activities of their children and also be aware of their whereabouts and who they are with,” said Rane, who is also a retired Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Traffic expert Prof MN Sreehari blamed parents for the situation. “We have seen parents making their children sit on their laps while driving or giving control of their two-wheelers while riding. Even as gifts, most parents give toy cars or jeeps to children and with such early age influence, children tend to take vehicles on to public roads. The traffic police are already understaffed, and cannot regularly check for underage driving,” he said.