Open house: What steps should be taken to prevent minors at wheels?

Create awareness at every level

Teenage is the time when children don’t fully understand and are unable to differentiate between right and wrong. Children have limited control over their cognitions and at this moment, proper guidance should be given to them in any form, be it counselling or one-on-one parenting sessions. The incident that occurred really shook my heart, as it showed that for some boys, religious sentiments have become more important than rules and ethics. Awareness should begin at every level, whether at home or school. At school, children should be taught about the pros and cons of everything and proper workshops and counselling sessions should be arranged for them.

Shruti Bidani

Monitor driving habits of adolescents

The recent death of four adolescents in a road accident underscores the consequences of rash driving and highlights the importance of vigilance from both parents and the administration. Adolescence is a critical developmental age characterised by identity shaping, social skills formation and the establishment of a foundation for future well-being and success. Effective parenting, which includes creating a nurturing environment to promote a child’s physical, emotional, social and cognitive development, has always been the need of the hour. Consistent discipline monitoring, including positive reinforcement and natural consequences, can facilitate the teaching of responsibility and accountability. To encourage safe driving, parents themselves should demonstrate safe driving behaviour, as adolescents often follow them. They should avoid providing vehicles to underage adolescents. Even after attaining driving age, parents should regularly monitor their adolescent’s driving habits and provide them with feedback and guidance. Establishing clear expectations and consequences for reckless driving is important to ensure that adolescents understand the significance of safe driving. Additionally, road safety and defensive driving techniques should be incorporated into school curricula. Workshops, seminars and awareness programs to educate adolescents about the risks and consequences of rash driving are necessary. Experienced drivers, traffic police personnel or accident survivors should share their experiences to emphasise the importance of safe driving. Technological interventions, including in-vehicle monitoring systems, mobile apps, etc., for tracking driving behaviour, providing real-time feedback and offering rewards for safe driving, should be implemented. Additionally, incentives, rewards and penalties may be offered on vehicle insurance depending on one’s driving track record. Recognising adolescents who demonstrate safe driving habits through certificates, badges, or prizes could also be beneficial. Lastly, maintaining strict traffic police enforcement 24X7 is essential to monitor rash driving on roads, with violators facing penalties as outlined in the latest traffic rules, without sparing anyone.

Dr Kulwant Singh Phull

Motor Vehicles Acts should be more rigid

The recent heart-shattering incident in Nakodar has shaken both the government and the people in general, like a ferocious lightning bolt, marking another monotonous and depressing day in the history of Punjab. Four boys lost their lives to the fire of youth and arrogance as, even after repeated restrictions about driving imposed on minors, they decided to overlook the concerns of their guardians and fell prey to one of the most devastating accidents. However, it is not their fault, as our youth is heading down a very disoriented and formidable path of destruction. This incident is merely a wake-up call to all those deviant youth, alerting them of the legacy and ideologies they are leaving for future generations. It is a common trend among students that harmful activities like underage driving are considered “cool” and make them look like a bold, independent person. What they don’t realise is that these are signs of complete foolishness and self-destruction. Each and every rule is made with some thought process and is meant for the safety of the people. Breaking rules like driving as a legal minor doesn’t show a person’s dominance but merely a spectacle of their immaturity. Schools should definitely focus on making the younger generation understand, through assemblies and rules, that everything has its perks at a set age and attempting to do something before that age will never lead to a bright future. It can most certainly result in devastating incidents like the one in Nakodar. No student under 18 should be permitted to enter the school facility on their own vehicle or without being accompanied by a legal adult. Along with this, it’s the administration and the parents’ responsibility to convince the youth by stopping them and enlightening them about the cons of such activities. The government should make the Motor Vehicle Act more rigid and enforce regular traffic checks with hefty fines so the punishment can act as a deterrent in the real sense to ensure no one is breaking the law and endangering their own and someone else’s life.

Lakshit Jindal

Intensive patrolling required

Underage driving is a serious concern in our country, with many young lives lost due to negligent behaviour behind the wheel. Although the primary cause of grievous accidents is the bad condition of roads, drunken drivers and disobedience to traffic rules, several accidents occur due to reckless driving by underage youth. To curb the rising trend among minors, the Punjab government invoked the provisions of the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act 2019, whereby driving by underage individuals is banned, with stringent punishments imposed on parents or vehicle owners. However, despite this regulation, traffic instructions are being flouted with impunity, especially by school-going youngsters, as evident from the number of two-wheelers parked near school premises. To escape being noticed by authorities, students often park vehicles outside schools on roads and streets, obstructing traffic flow and causing inconvenience to nearby residents. When enquired, schools squarely blame parents for allowing their minor kids to use costly two-wheelers or cars, instead of persuading them to use bicycles or school transportation. In some cases, despite protestations from parents, youngsters manage to access vehicles owned by friends or relatives for joyrides or to reach schools/tutorials. As teenagers’ brains are not fully developed, impairing their judgment, decision-making and impulse control, they often drive at high speed, putting themselves and other road users at grave risk. The recent accident, leading to the death of minors during a fateful ride to Nakodar, is a stark reminder of the consequences of underage driving. It is, therefore, essential to undertake a vigorous sensitisation drive to spread awareness against this insane practice. While some NGOs and traffic police have already launched campaigns to sensitize students about traffic safety norms at various schools, parents must be more vigilant, dissuading their kids from using banned vehicles, even for the sake of adventure. All schools must arrange transport for their pupils at reasonable costs, so they are not tempted to use personal vehicles. The State Sadak Surakhya Force (SSF) created for enforcing road safety and speedy assistance should undertake intensive patrolling to check underage driving. This may include impounding vehicles used by minors and imposing fines to enforce discipline. Moreover, imparting awareness about traffic regulations to minors is crucial for their safety. Schools should educate students in morning assemblies to become law-abiding citizens and adopt cycling as part of physical exercise. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the parents, teachers and society as a whole to check the menace of underage driving.

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

Parents should be strict

“Speed thrills but kills.” The Ministry of Transport has already framed age restrictions and limits on the number of passengers for driving two-wheelers, four-wheelers and heavy machinery like trucks and buses. However, due to the revolution in technology, there is a flood of two-wheelers and four-wheelers available in the market. Similarly, youths under the age of eighteen have a curiosity about driving, whether it be a two-wheeler or four-wheeler. Even though students below the age of eighteen are not allowed to drive two-wheelers or four-wheelers on the road, if they are caught, the parents will bear the brunt of the challan. Recently, the horrible accident involving four minors on a bike, where they lost their lives, has sent shockwaves throughout the area from which they belonged. The issue is: How did the parents allow their minors to drive the two-wheeler? If the parents had not allowed them, how did the minors get the keys to the vehicle? It is an unfortunate incident and the deceased families know the shock and sorrow of losing their children. Similarly, in city areas where E-rickshaws are flooded, drivers are ignorant about traffic rules and often ignore red lights to pick up passengers, creating a threat for other vehicle owners. Schools should make it mandatory to highlight traffic rules and the consequences of not following them strictly, once a week. Parents should also be strict in this matter and never give vehicle keys to minors, not keeping in mind their interests but the interests of other vehicle owners as well.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Traffic violations and tragedies

The report “four boys die as scooter rams into stationary truck” is deeply shocking but also a grim reminder of prevailing traffic disorders in the city. The unfortunate accident has raised many questions that need to be addressed to avoid such occurrences in the future. The fact that all four underage victims were riding a single scooter without helmets, committing multiple glaring violations of the law in one go, warrants a thorough review of traffic police work in the city. The tragedy has also raised a vital point regarding the parenting of minor children, who generally disobey their advice. How long will parents continue suffering due to the illegal and immoral conduct of their minor children? Our society and government must come out with solutions. The growing popularity of Dera culture among youth also needs a deep introspection into this unhealthy social trend.

Jagdish Chander

Be a responsible citizen

There must be absolute strictness about not giving vehicles to underage children. Parents, especially those from well-to-do and affluent families, must not violate the law by encouraging there young ones to take vehicles to schools. This has to begin at home. A responsible citizen means a citizen who is not only aware of the rules but also helps in maintaining order by following them. Law, of course, has to be unsparing when it comes to underage driving. Not only are these kids put other lives in danger they also destroy their own lives. Schools have to be stringent in making sure that students do not come to the institution on their own vehicles, specially four wheelers. The peer pressure and the show-off speed mentality has to be checked. There has to be strictness in issuance of licenses too.

Ankur Sharma

Jalandhar