BENGALURU: This year, only 20 wheelie cases have been registered till July in the city. On the other hand, in 2017, the number of cases registered in the same period was around 84 (168 during the entire year), and in 2016, it was 180 (in the entire year). This year, out of the 20 cases registered, six were in the east sub-division of the city.
RI Kasim, MCA, ACP Traffic East, attributes the drop to the police’s active drives against it. He also adds that the awareness drive has reached children, who know that they are being monitored. Depending on the severity of the case, an action is taken against those found guilty. “Trials will happen in court and later, the punishment and fine will be decided by them,” he says, adding that children between 12 and 18 years are involved. The fine, according to the Motors Vehicle Act 1988, is between Rs 100 to Rs 1,000, or imprisonment (anywhere between three months to two years), or both. Both the rider and owner of the vehicle will be penalised, he says.
Speaking at an awareness drive organised by HAL 3rd Stage Tax Payers & Residents Welfare Association and the Traffic police on Monday at The Indiranagar Cambridge School, Kasim adds, “Children indulge in such activities because of the adrenaline rush it gives them. Not to mention, peer pressure is also one of the factors. They take videos and upload them on social media to get likes and comments. They do so without realising that stunts on roads could lead to near-fatal or fatal accidents. When we get a tip-off, we reach out to these children and often find their videos on mobiles.
They create a passcode for the folder in which they store these videos with unusual names.” One of the students also admitted to having done a wheelie near his house in Kodihalli after watching a YouTube demo. Kasim also points out that most parents are unaware that their children are attempting such stunts. It is only when the vehicle is towed and parents are summoned to the police station that they find out.
“Such cases are high during the holidays, Sundays and late nights,” he says.