Drive against minors behind the wheel
Hyderabad: Following the ghastly accident in Bowenpally police station limits on Sunday in which car driven by a minor boy hit an autorickshaw and two bikes claiming the life of a 14-month-old boy, the police has decided to further intensify its special and surprise drive against minors driving two- and four-wheeler vehicles.
Speaking to The Hans India, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-1) L S Chauhan said that till now they have created awareness among more than 2.5 lakh children on traffic rules and regulations and requested the parents not to permit their children to get behind the wheel.
Already the police had started taking up surprise checks in colonies and now it would be further intensified, he said.
The traffic police would implement the Central government's new Motor Vehicle Act in a much stricter manner. According to the new Act fine for minors driving a vehicle would now be Rs 5,000. The fine on the parents would be Rs 25,000 and imprisonment on conviction, for permitting their minor children to drive vehicles.
The police said that it has been noticed that even after taking up special drive by the Hyderabad traffic police against minor drivers and booking of cases against them, the accidents by the minor drivers had not shown downward trend. But with the new Act having come into force, they hoped that the parents would ensure that their children do not violate the law.
According to Senior Traffic police officials, more than 400 cases were booked in the recent times and the minor drivers and their parents were counselled at the Begumpet and Goshamahal Traffic Institutes.
The minors were warned against driving without licence and valid documents, and parents were asked not to permit their children to drive for the security of their children and safety of other road-users.
The underage driving cases are more within the Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda traffic police limits.
During counselling, the police are making it clear to the parents that once booked and convicted, the children would face problems in finding jobs, securing passports, visas, admissions and so on. Statistics reveal that about 20-25 cases are registered within the city limits on a daily basis.