Cop scanner on teenage drivers

Any minor riding a bike in the Pimpri- Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) area will now be booked along with his/her parents for violating traffic laws. Along with a twohour counselling, they will now also have to pay double the fine. Assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Nilima Jadhav told Mirror, “We have started booking teenagers who do not bear a licence and are still riding carefree on the streets. It is high time they start following the traffic rules or be ready to face the heat.”

“These teenagers usually are from the 10th standard or from junior college and we have formed a special team to take strict action against them in the vicinity of school and colleges. Not only will the students be booked, but also the parents who are responsible for them will come under the purview of police action. They should not be giving mopeds or bikes to their underage wards in the first place and hence they will have to go through a counselling session along with them.”

Juvenile delinquents in and around PCMC who have been disrespectful towards traffic laws will now have to pay a fine amounting between Rs 100 and Rs1000 for different types of violations. On Friday alone, a total of 125 teenagers were booked for several traffic violations in Pimpri and Chinchwad. After being apprehended the parents and children will be taken to the nearest police stations for the counselling sessions and the traffic cops present in the PCMC region will keep a close tab on the violators who have been booked once.

If the same children are seen riding bikes again, severe action will be further taken against them. They may not even be allowed to appear for the licence test on reaching eligible age, cops clarified. The frequent minor and major accidents that are taking place in the PCMC have goaded the traffic cops to take these stern steps towards the citizens.

Along with imposition of the helmet rule, the traffic cops want to make sure that anyone under the age of 18 is not seen riding a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler. According to the cops, since the new year, a total of around 15 minor and major accidents have taken place already. The effort from their side is to reduce the number of fatal accidents in the first half of 2019 and not wait for the deadline of 2020 to reach the target.