Parents, beware! Allowing minor wards to drive will land you in jail

Underage driving has claimed seven lives in the city in just three months. To curb underage driving and prevent fatal and non-fatal accidents, the city police have come out with stringent measures against the parents allowing their minor wards to drive vehicles.

"Underage driving puts the lives of minor children and other people travelling on roads at risk. Parents who allow their minor children to ride motorcycles or drive cars will be prosecuted. We could curb underage driving only through stringent punishments," said A Saravana Sundar, city police commissioner.

Now that summer holidays have begun, many parents have started teaching their children how to ride motorcycles, another police officer said. "They look down on the fact that underage drivers are frequently involved in accidents. Many teens, eager to drive vehicles, skip legal requirements and use the two-wheelers or cars of their parents or relatives. The risk of such illegal practice was evident in the city when a 17-year-old boy riding a scooter with his friend on pillion fell on the road and was run over by a govt bus on Ukkadam-Sungam bypass road a week ago."

In other countries, driving theory, road signs and even basic vehicle repair classes are taken seriously, said activist K Kathirmathiyon. "Govts abroad enforce strict theoretical assessments before issuing licences. But in India, it remains a mere formality. Learners' licence applicants were once tested in person by motor vehicle inspectors at the regional transport offices. Now that online tests are in place, applicants could easily look up for answers, defeating the very purpose of conducting a test. This system needs tighter controls."

According to the official data, 99.5% of the learners' licence applicants pass the tests. The remaining failures are attributed to technical glitches during result submission.

Learners' licence holders are also involved in traffic violations. While they must be accompanied by a valid licence holder and cannot drive on highways or in restricted zones, many violate these norms. Some students even park their bikes at friends' houses to evade detection at schools. Awareness programmes by police and regional transport offices have had a limited impact so far. "Ultimately, parents are best positioned to prevent this," said a senior transport department official.

The city police commissioner said despite creating awareness among the parents that they should not allow their minor children to drive any type of vehicles on public roads, many minor boys were seen driving heavy CC engine motorcycles or scooters. "We are going to carry out a special drive against underage driving across the city soon. Parents will be booked for giving their vehicles to their minor wards."

S Ashok Kumar, city deputy police commissioner (traffic), said the traffic police were directed to seize the vehicles used by the underage drivers. "We will take action to suspend the driving licence of the parents allowing their minor wards to drive motorcycles. They will also be fined and made to compensate for the damages caused by their minor children."