A 17-year-old school student, died on the spot after he was hit by a Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus at Medavakkam, on Velachery Main Road, on Thursday evening.
M. Ravishankar, of Mandaveli Street in Medavakkam near Tambaram, a student of Christ The King School in Pushpa Nagar, Medavakkam, attended school and returned home on Thursday evening.
After freshening up, he took the motorcycle, and was on his way to meet a friend. Opposite Sowmya Bhavan restaurant in Medavakkam, he was hit by the MTC bus – route No. 5A from East Tambaram to T.Nagar – which killed him on the spot. A case has been registered at St. Thomas Mount Traffic Police Investigation. The bus driver, Sekar, was arrested. According to the police, the boy was not wearing a helmet.
The accident also brings to focus the trend of several school students in the city riding two-wheelers without a valid licence. Even with a licence, such students, in the age group 16-18, violate the Motor Vehicles Act, except in cases where they ride two-wheelers with an engine capacity of 50 cc or less.
No longer manufactured
However, most major manufacturers have stopped producing sub-50 cc mopeds.
Provision 1 under Section 4 of the Motor Vehicles Act states that, “No person under the age of 18 years shall drive a motor vehicle in any public place. Provided that a motorcycle with engine capacity not exceeding 50 cc may be driven in a public place by a person after attaining the age of 16 years.”
This would mean that learners' licences issued to those in the age group 16 to 18 years, authorises them to ride gear-less motorbikes with an engine capacity not exceeding 50 cc alone.
However, many students continue riding bikes and some, without helmets.
