The drive began on April 19 and is set to continue till April 30 as several schools also called for an awareness campaign during parents-teachers meetings.
To curb road mishaps involving underage drivers, the Gurgaon traffic police started a drive on April 19. It caught 35 underage school kids who were driving two-wheelers and four-wheelers without a driving license, and challaned 10 parents.
The parents of the children were called by the police and they were warned of strict action if they provided vehicles to their wards who did not have a valid driving license.
The campaign began from Old Gurgaon and is set to cover the whole city by April 30. Road safety officers (RSO) are also part of the initiative. The traffic police deployed its teams near schools and kept a close watch on students who parked their vehicles near the school campus.
Balbir Singh, DCP (traffic), Gurgaon, told City Spidey, “Such children are using two-wheelers illegally and even parents are providing them with vehicles. They are violating rules of sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Motor Vehicle Act (MC Act), 1988. Rash driving by underage students is the main cause of accidents in the state.”
Principals of several schools have also requested the police to conduct an awareness campaign during parents-teachers meetings.
“Underage driving is a major concern in the city. Students often use mobile phones while driving and many accidents take place due to negligence. Parents who allow their wards without driving licenses to drive vehicles at this age are responsible for mishaps,” said Jagdish Baweja, road safety officer.
Dharamveer Kumar, another RSO, told City Spidey, “We did not impound any vehicle today but we’ve issued challans of Rs 1,500 each. We need to be strict to discourage minors from driving their parents’ vehicles.”
