Police target parents of juvenile driving offenders

Delhi Police claim underage driving is a menace in the city. To curb it, police have started an intensive drive against the parents of such juvenile offenders. On an average, 90 offences of minor driving are reported everyday in the city, reports Vijaita Singh.

Delhi Police claim underage driving is a menace in the city. To curb it, police have started an intensive drive against the parents of such juvenile offenders. On an average, 90 offences of minor driving are reported everyday in the city.

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In the past two-and-a-half months alone, Delhi Police have taken action against 6,682 parents.

“We have started an intensive drive against the parents and owners of vehicles who allow unauthorised people to drive. In the past fortnight alone we booked 1,046 people in one such drive," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

The officer added that more than penalty, the parents and schools should be roped in to counsel such offenders.

Role of schools

The police said they were planning to rope in schools to educate children about consequences of minor driving.

On February 3, a 17-year-old schoolboy and his sister were crushed to death when a DTC bus hit their motorcycle, five minutes after the siblings left their Ashok Vihar residence. The boy did not have a driving licence.

The Juvenile Justice Act prevents the police from booking minors, so as a way out the parents are being booked.