Friday, March 23, 2018

Parents will go to jail, pay fines if police catch minors behind wheel

TIMES NEWS NETWORK   23.03.2018

Chennai: Parents of minor children driving cars or riding bikes are set to face the music if their kids are caught in the act. With the city witnessing 19 fatal accidents involving minor drivers last year and two more this year, traffic police have warned that they will strictly observe the letter of the law by jailing and fining negligent parents.

Traffic cops have been going easy on kids so far with the usual practice being to seize the vehicle and let them off with a warning unless they have been involved in an accident.

Parents were allowed to collect the vehicle after receiving a warning. But now they face imprisonment for up to three months, or a fine extending to ₹1,000, or both, under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act. If the vehicle belongs to someone else, they will face similar action.

“Minor drivers are a threat to themselves as well as other motorists who adhere to traffic rules. Parents should at least now realise the danger in letting their underage children drive vehicles,” said joint commissioner, traffic, R Sudhakar.

Experts say it is time parents are made to pay for allowing underage children to drive or ride. M Radhakrishnan, founder of the NGO Thozhan which launched an initiative called ‘accident free nation’, said, “It is a welcome move as many parents gift their children bikes if they successfully pass examinations despite knowing that underage driving is an offence.”

He said stringent action should also be initiated against schools who allow their students to come in bikes.

Nithya Ramesh, a parent, said she had decided to get her son a bike only after he became eligible for a licence, adding that the move was good as young riders often get overenthusiastic and unwittingly cause accidents. 



Unlike earlier, now parents will face jail for up to three months, or a fine extending to ₹1,000, or both, under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act. If the vehicle belongs to someone else, they will face similar action

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