Underage driving is one of the major causes of traffic snarls and causes danger to other motorists and pedestrians on the roads.
In this backdrop, a court here sentenced to three years jail to a man for the accident caused by the father of the juvenile.
Though penalisation of vehicle owners in an accident case is neither alien nor new to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), its implementation is trend setting, as it raises hopes of a decline in the involvement and fatalities of minors in road accidents.
According to the Section 199A Motor Vehicle Act 1988, when the offence under the Act is committed by a juvenile, the guardian of such juvenile or the owner of the motor vehicle shall be deemed to be guilty and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. The father of the juvenile pleaded guilty.
According to psychiatrists, adolescent children, and boys more often, indulge in bike racing and rash driving to impress peers. They feel a sense of freedom by violating the law and it is that feeling that prompts an underage driver to not wear helmets and seat belts. Most of them don’t follow traffic rules, a self destructive factor which also poses danger to other road users.
According to government data, 1.2 lakh deaths have been reported due to negligence related to road accidents in 2020, with 328 people losing their lives every day on an average. It is important to note that 3.92 lakh lives were lost due to negligent driving or bypassing traffic rules in last 3 years according to the NCRB’s annual ‘Crime India’ report of 2020. These numbers are alarming and it’s high time that people take traffic laws very seriously. As a society every member of it must realize that all these lives can be saved if traffic rules are followed.
Teenage driving remains a risk because minors cannot make judgements and are bad at decision-making.
As observed rightly by the court, it is the first and foremost duty of parents not to provide their minor children any vehicle unless they attain majority and have license to drive the vehicle. It is also the duty of teachers not to allow the minor students to drive the vehicles and impart education regarding these issues.
In this backdrop, a court here sentenced to three years jail to a man for the accident caused by the father of the juvenile.
Though penalisation of vehicle owners in an accident case is neither alien nor new to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), its implementation is trend setting, as it raises hopes of a decline in the involvement and fatalities of minors in road accidents.
According to the Section 199A Motor Vehicle Act 1988, when the offence under the Act is committed by a juvenile, the guardian of such juvenile or the owner of the motor vehicle shall be deemed to be guilty and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. The father of the juvenile pleaded guilty.
According to psychiatrists, adolescent children, and boys more often, indulge in bike racing and rash driving to impress peers. They feel a sense of freedom by violating the law and it is that feeling that prompts an underage driver to not wear helmets and seat belts. Most of them don’t follow traffic rules, a self destructive factor which also poses danger to other road users.
According to government data, 1.2 lakh deaths have been reported due to negligence related to road accidents in 2020, with 328 people losing their lives every day on an average. It is important to note that 3.92 lakh lives were lost due to negligent driving or bypassing traffic rules in last 3 years according to the NCRB’s annual ‘Crime India’ report of 2020. These numbers are alarming and it’s high time that people take traffic laws very seriously. As a society every member of it must realize that all these lives can be saved if traffic rules are followed.
Teenage driving remains a risk because minors cannot make judgements and are bad at decision-making.
As observed rightly by the court, it is the first and foremost duty of parents not to provide their minor children any vehicle unless they attain majority and have license to drive the vehicle. It is also the duty of teachers not to allow the minor students to drive the vehicles and impart education regarding these issues.
