Students should act as counsellors and enlighten the road users on traffic and road rules and safety to prevent road accidents, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP-Traffic) Kranthi Rana Tata.
“Many students are riding vehicles, particularly bikes without possessing licences. The youngsters are unaware of the traffic and road rules and are creating problem to the public. Sometimes they are becoming victims,” the DCP said during a counselling session.
The traffic police conducted special drives at various junctions, schools and colleges and caught more than 1,200 students for driving bikes without licence.
In many cases, the youth were riding the bikes without licence and in some cases they were caught on charges of triple riding and drink and drive cases. In the last few days, police counselled about 1,200 youth in a phased manner, Mr. Rana told The Hindu .
“One person was dying in road accidents every day under Vijayawada Police Commissionerate and many people were suffering injuries. The trauma of the victims’ families was heart-rending,” the DCP said while explaining the reasons for the accident to the students.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP-Traffic) K. Suryachandra Rao said that police identified accident-prone areas and vulnerable junctions in the city. Caution boards have been arranged at many places to prevent road mishaps, he said.
Poor road engineering
“Most of the road accidents are occurring due to negligence of drivers, violation of traffic rules, poor condition of vehicles and poor road engineering. We are trying to coordinate with Roads and Buildings, AP Transco, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, APSRTC and other departments to avoid road accidents,” the ACP said.
Voluntary Health, Education and Economic Development Unit’s executive director M. Vasu, who has been working on minimising road accidents for the last few years, said it was pathetic that most of the students were unlicensed and were doing snake driving causing inconvenience to the co-passengers.
The DCP said that under Section 181 of Motor Vehicle (MV) Act, 1988, ₹500 fine or three months’ imprisonment will be imposed for driving vehicles without licence. A person who gives vehicle to an unlicensed person or a minor is liable for three months’ imprisonment or ₹1,000 fine under Section 180 of the MV Act.
Under Section 185 of MV Act, 1988, fine of ₹2,000 and six months’ jail term will be awarded in drink and drive cases.
If the same person is caught again in three years, he or she is liable for two years imprisonment or ₹3,000 fine, Mr. Rana said.
