Spurt in underage driving, awareness drill for parents

  • | Saturday | 21st April, 2018

They will be booked under Section 180 and 181 of the motor vehicle Act that attracts imprisonment of three months or a fine of Rs 1,500 or both. "We take the photos of children driving and send them to their parents. The institute teaches rules and regulation one should follow while driving a vehicle. "Since the vacation has started, an increasing number of elders have been attending the classes after their children were caught for driving. "Though the Act has provisions for imprisonment, we usually do not go to that extent, instead, we impose fine on the vehicle's owner,'' said motor vehicle inspector Dileep Kumar in Kochi.

KOCHI: RTO officials have found a solution to tackle the rising number of underaged drivers who have been behind the wheels on Kochi roads.They not only impose a fine on the youngsters but even sent their parents to the Institute of Driver Training and Research run by the motor vehicle department at Edappal in Malappuram for a day-long awareness class.MVD squads have been registering at least two cases of underage driving every day in Ernakulam since the vacation season has begun.When a minor is caught, his or her parents who is the owner of the vehicle will be booked for driving without licence. They will be booked under Section 180 and 181 of the motor vehicle Act that attracts imprisonment of three months or a fine of Rs 1,500 or both."Though the Act has provisions for imprisonment, we usually do not go to that extent, instead, we impose fine on the vehicle's owner,'' said motor vehicle inspector Dileep Kumar in Kochi. RTO officials said they even recommended suspension of two licences on Friday."We send the parents of minors caught for driving without licence to the Institute of Driver Training and Research for a day-long class," Ernakulam RTO Reji P Varghese said.Officials from the Edappal institute said parents from Erankulam, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Angamaly have attended their classes."Since the vacation has started, an increasing number of elders have been attending the classes after their children were caught for driving. The institute teaches rules and regulation one should follow while driving a vehicle. After the class, a certificate is issued in the name of the parent who attended the class," said M N Prabhakaran, joint director of the institute."We take the photos of children driving and send them to their parents. We also detain minor girls for driving two-wheelers. We have started a special drive to catch minors driving vehicles in the area," said Binesh K S, motor vehicle inspector in Perumbavoor Joint RTO office.Road safety officials said it was the ignorance on the part of parents and reluctance on the part of children to obey the advice of parents that resulted in underage driving."When the Motor Vehicle Act (amendment) Bill 2017 comes into force, underage driving will come down drastically since the new Act stipulates an increase in the quantum of punishment on the owner of the vehicle," said P D Sunil Babu, special officer and traffic safety expert of the Kerala Road Safety Authority He also recollected an incident in which two people were killed when a car, driven by a minor, hit them in Erattupetta two years ago.

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