The city police have announced a crackdown on juvenile motorists after Sunday’s incident where three minors, who were racing each other, were involved in an accident leaving one dead. But is this enough? With Karnataka seeing as many as 8,037 deaths in 2016 caused by speeding, experts say more needs to be done. Primarily, it would involve educating youngsters about road safety.
Piyush Tewari, founder, Savelife Foundation, said the Sunday accident was a clear case of culpability and the parents of the boys, who let them drive, should be held accountable. The fathers of the minors involved in the crash were arrested under various sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and were released on bail on Monday.
While Section V of the Act fixes responsibility on the owners of motor vehicles, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016, seeks to introduce stricter punishment for adults who let juveniles drive.
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“The new legislation that has been pending in Parliament needs to be passed and implemented quickly, as it promises to improve investigation, enforcement and enhances not just fines but also accountability. Giving a vehicle to an inexperienced person is like giving them weapon to kill, ” said Mr. Tiwari.
He added that no crash is caused owing to a single reason, and there should be interventions from the enforcement and engineering points of view. “For example, the Electronics City road is known for racing incidents, but no speed-governing measures or enforcements have been put in place,” Mr. Tiwari said, also advocating road safety training for teenagers.
Ashish Verma, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, said that though the law makes it clear that anybody below the eligible age is not allowed to drive or ride, emphasis also needs to be laid on developing better driving behaviour.
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“In this case, the impact of lifestyle and peer groups had an implication on the driving behaviour. They were from affluent families and they were racing against each other. In many countries where road safety provisions have improved, the thrust has been on driving education and such provisions have been part of the licensing process,” Mr. Verma said.