As the underage driving has become the talk of the town after several back to back road accidents by minors driving the vehicles and people losing lives in many such mishaps, the traffic and transport authorities have taken some initiatives to curb this problem. It is known fact that allowing minors to drive vehicles involves risk for both the fellow commuters and the drivers themselves.
People of young age, less than 18 years, often lack the maturity, skill, and decision making required to steer vehicles safely which at times results into dangerous outcomes like fatal accidents and loss of property. Inexperience and impulsive decision-making prevalent in the under-age driving often led to catastrophes like in the cases of recent accidents in the UT involving underage and without driving license cases in Valley and in Jammu’s Nagrota.
All said and done, permitting minors to drive without fully understanding the gravity of their actions is akin to giving them the authority to make life-or-death decisions, with potentially tragic outcomes. As such, stricter regulations and better education around road safety are essential to mitigate the risks associated with underage driving.
It is good that in the present context, the Jammu and Kashmir Transport Department has come up with an advisory warning the parents against allowing minors to drive, with violations under the Motor Vehicles Act attracting a three-year jail term, a Rs 25,000 fine, and the cancellation of vehicle registration for a year. This is not enough as according to the advisory, the minors themselves will attract a driving ban till they turn 25.
Although, this advisory seems to be quite sufficient for containing the underage driving but what seems to be more important is the implementation of these norms on ground because it has been seen in the past also that such regulations are passed with much enthusiasm but after passing of some days, things become as they used to be with people started following the same old routine, waiting for another disaster to happen again.
It is imperative that the norms formulated this time and issued in public through an advisory should be followed in letter and spirit, and the concerned authorities including the traffic police should ensure strict compliance for this being rudimentary for ensuring safety on roads.
