Student bikers risk life & limb on ride to school

Bhubaneswar: A blame game has started among schools, parents and officials over young students riding bikes to educational instiututions leading to a traffic mess on the roads.
In the morning when schools open and in the afternoon when those close, young riders, mostly below 18 years of age, zoom past, honking loudly, sometimes without helmet and license putting their and others’ lives at risk.
“It feels unsafe on the roads in the morning and afternoon as many young kids are riding bikes without helmets, tripling and speeding. I think according to rules, children below 18 are not eligible for a licence to ride bikes or scooters. There is also a provision of penalty on parents if their children are caught riding bikes or violating traffic rules. But due to lack of enforcement the menace has been increasing by the day,” said Prasant Kumar Sahu, a parent.
Official sources said only those above 18 years are eligible to ride motorbikes over 50 cc capacity and with gear. The age limit is 16 for vehicles without gear. However, officials said it is common to see children below 18 years riding power bikes and speeding.
Traffic police officers said school authorities don’t want to take responsibility as students are riding bikes outside the campus. “We have been conducting regular checks on city roads to ensure that minors don’t ride speed bikes. We have been also imposing fines on their parents. But now children are riding battery-operated vehicles, which are not considered bikes and are not under the legal ambit. So, our hands are tied. It is the parents who should not allow their children to ride bikes,” said Swastik Panda, ACP traffic.