School heads tired of admonishing adolescent students riding two-wheelers, by and large, believe that the stringent provisions of the new motor law will prompt the youth transgressors to switch over to bicycles.

Another section of school heads is sceptic, citing gaps in enforcement. “There were already laws to curb underage driving. They remained only on paper due to poor implementation,” principal of a private school points out.

Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2019 states: “Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a juvenile, the vehicle’s registration will be cancelled for 12 months. Furthermore, the juvenile will also not be granted either a learner’s licence or a driving licence till they are 25-years old.”

Says a traffic policeman manning a junction in a city suburb: “There are signs of students in uniform desisting from riding two-wheelers over the last few days. Nevertheless, the onus is on parents. The responsibility is on them to make their wards understand the dangers and repurcussions.”

School teachers agree. “Parents are to be blamed. In very many instances, they think letting their wards go to schools in expensive motorcycles will be a reflection of their affluence. And there are manpower constraints for the police. It becomes difficult for them to detect students who are in the habit of changing their dress once they are out of the institution to conceal their juvenile identity,” a senior teacher in a rural school said.

According to Selvarathinam, a parent, strict enforcement of the new motor law with respect to underage driving is indeed necessary.

“Our wards are underage, but adolescents too. They simply do not understand the dangers of rash driving. Visible policing is all we look for to keep them in check at home. We would love to make them patronise bicycles,” he says.

Meanwhile, at a recent meeting to discuss the amendments to the Act, the Air, Rail and Road Travellers Association, has appealed to the government to do away with the provision to arrest the parents of children driving vehicles.

The association suggested that vehicles can be impounded apart from imposing penalty for the violation.