Minors at wheel? Police blame negligent parents

BENGALURU:On an average, 12 minors are booked every day for driving through the city roads. This year, we have had 4,000 accidents and 546 deaths because of underage driving. While youngsters are out looking for ‘harmless fun’, parents are increasingly being held accountable for their oversight and indulgence.

The recent tragic death of 17-year-old Arfan on Hosur Road raised an alarm about teenagers who go for a spin with their parents’ vehicle, without their consent. Arfan’s friends confessed to racing at midnight, his parents were arrested following the death and a case of negligence was slapped on them.
A senior traffic inspector, who does not want to be named, says that the cases of minors driving as well as of parents negligence has been on the increase. This mainly happens because parents do not think borrowing a vehicle to cover a short distance is a ‘big deal’.

“It often starts with a teenager asking to drive to a store, maybe a grocery, about 1 km away. Then the teenager seeks to drive a little further and since he or she came back home safe the first time, parents see no harm in giving permission the second time. This is illegal and a case of negligence,” says a senior traffic official.

Jail term, fine for parents

In 2015, the High Court of Karnataka asked police to book parents when minors are caught driving in the city. Parents can be jailed for six months or fined under section 184. Ever since the order was passed approximately 7,000 parents have been booked each year. In October alone, more than 600 parents were booked.The blame eventually falls on parents. “Parents must never allow minors to drive a vehicle,” says R Hitendra, additional commissioner of police (traffic), adding that “this is more of a psychological problem”.

Are we hurrying children?

Dr Shubha Madhusudhan, a psychologist, agrees with Hitendra. She says that parents usually “make the child a miniature adult by the age of 9 and 10”. She adds, “So when the child is 13 or 14, he or she believes that they are adults and what to imitate adults, which includes smoking or driving.”
“What I have observed is that parenting is becoming less of a priority and I keep getting patients who are fed up staying at home and looking after children. So they are in a hurry to make the child a grown-up, so they keep telling the child so,” says Dr Shubha. This deludes the child and this is more often seen among boys, than girls.

A senior traffic official says that most often they catch students of Class X driving, since they are on their way to tuition after school, and gradually they get into the habit of speeding. Dr Shubha adds that, in teenagers, harmones overrule intelligence and therefore they cause speed and destruction.

Should we celebrate?

Recently, the hype over a seven-year-old Mysurean girl who etched her name on Golden Book of World Records for riding 14 different kinds of vehicle had everyone cheering. Though the news is a positive one, many are concerned about celebration of a minor driving. CV Sudhindra, an advocate, says “She may be an exceptional talent but it is still illegal. No one can be exempted from the law so to drive the vehicle, even if it is for a show, one must be 18 years of age and possess a licence.”  R Hitendra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), refuses to commen ton this and says that no exemption for any such stunt will be given in Bengaluru.