Kid drivers make roads unsafe

Visakhapatnam: The roads of Vizag have become unsafe, due to the new trend of parents who are gifting vehicles to children before they have reached the legal age for driving.

Assistant commissioner of police (Traffic), L. Arjun, said that the police are using every possible tactic to curb the menace of driving by minors. From penalising the driver to conducting counselling sessions, they have tried many tricks, but to no avail.

In a disturbing discovery, the police have realised that parents are the ones who are responsible for this menace. They buy the children a bike or a car for reasons such as getting good grades. They even resort to dangling it as a carrot in the hope of inspiring their children to get good marks.

The police say that the blame also lies equally on the heads of junior colleges. They do not take the necessary measures to ensure that students under 18 years of age do not come to college riding or driving a vehicle.

Bad enough that minors are riding and driving on the roads without a license, what is worse is that they drive at speeds clearly exceeding the permitted levels.

Dr N. N. Raju, superintendent, Government Hospital for Mental Care, said, “The pleasure of driving very fast is similar to the pleasure of gambling or drinking.

“Such pleasures restrict the brain from thinking logically. Many parents feel proud about their children driving at a young age and encourage their children to drive even though they know it is illegal.”

Dr Raju suggests that children should be rewarded for using public transport and not driving before obtaining legal age and taking a valid licence.

III?town sub-inspector, N. Appa Rao said, “Parents should realise that they are not only playing with the lives of their children but also with that of pedestrians and other drivers on the roads. I have seen many fatal accidents caused by rash driving by minors.”

Next: Vehicle owners to be penalised

Vehicle owners to be penalised

Nalla Ram | DC

Visakhapatnam: Vizag traffic police initiated a new method to crackdown on teen-aged drivers.

Vehicle owners who allow their  teenage wards to drive vehicles will have to visit police commissionerate and can take home their seized vehicles only after paying a minimum of Rs 1,700 as a fine and a  warning, besides  three hours of counselling.

Of the total fine, the vehicle owner will have to pay Rs 1,000 while the youngster will have to shell out  Rs 700.  From now on all underaged youth  caught  riding bikes or driving a car will have to spend  at least three hours at police commissionerate.

A total of 123 teen drivers, including some even below 10 years of age, were caught on Sunday at different places in the city.   On Monday, both  parents and the  teenagers were summoned to the police stations and forced to  attend a counselling session at Police Kalyanamandapam in the city.

Parents can  curb this menace but  a majority of parents don't take this problem seriously, he added.  “A teen driver tried to offer a bribe of Rs 3,000 to a traffic police constable near Siripuram Junction on Sunday which reflects the values of  minors.

So  we decided to  act against vehicle owner (parents and others)”, said Reddy.  A retired IPS officer, U.N.B. Rao, who lost his only son U. Vikram, 20, in a road accident in Delhi appealed to parents of teenagers not to allow  minors to drive.