They drive to a place that is out of the way and get started. A knock on a window tells them it’s not so unfrequented after all.
Intimacy in the car is an undeniable reality of our times. No country, culture and car brand is immune to it. Every day, some couples overestimate the ‘hiddenness’ of a place and pay for their misjudgment.
In India, a man in khaki sometimes interrupts the steamy session. Anyone caught in such an act can technically be arrested under Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code. It’s a broad-based law targeted at “any obscene acts in public”. The focus is not so much on the act as on where it is performed and whether it’s likely to offend other people. Anyone found guilty of an ‘obscene act’ can face “imprisonment up to three months, a fine or both” — this includes sex in the car.
The men in uniform don’t always rain on the parade of a couple cuddling in a car. Sometimes, opportunists make that shattering knock on a rolled-up window. As such couples invariably choose to park their cars in secluded spots, they are likely to gain the ‘acquaintance’ of others who seek such places for other secretive activities. Dalliance in the car has made many a couple victims of extortion. Sometimes it’s not just the money — there have been cases of interrupters resorting to burglary and attacking couples. The majority of these cases don’t make it to newsprint or news time because they seldom get reported, for obvious reasons.
Given all of this, in my opinion, parents and other authority figures have to discuss this subject with young adults. For, this demographic is said to be among those most susceptible to the allurements of such intimacy. Especially because they are exposed to a conflicting message, which suggests intimacy in the car is cool. This message is not explicitly spelt out but subliminally conveyed. Just Google the subject and you’ll know what I mean.
However, in every country, sexual displays in cars parked in public places invite some form of penal action. I think it’s necessary to highlight this fact and also other risks of committing an act of indiscretion in the car.
