Parents to face legal action if underage ward found driving

Noting that those without a valid license and students under the age of 18 years were not allowed to ride the vehicles, the police said in a statement, “If any parent or vehicle owners allow this, stringent legal action will be taken against them.”

It added that as per Section 3 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, it was made mandatory that no one was allowed to ride a vehicle in public if they did not have a valid license. Children under 18 years were not allowed to drive vehicles under Sec 4 of the act. Those violating these rules would have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 or three months imprisonment, or both, under Sec 180 of the act, it added.

On several roads in the city, students were seen riding their parents’ vehicles and were indulging in racing, resulting in accidents. “This not only affect the students, but also other members of the public”. 

Hence, it has been decided to take stringent legal action against the parents and vehicle owners if they allowed their wards under the age of 18 to drive the vehicles and those found driving without valid license, the statement warned. This is not the first time that the city police have warned against permitting underage children to drive. However, it is a common sight to find children uniform driving motorised vehicles.