Underage drivers on rise in Mohali; not enough traffic cops to enforce law

The situation is particularly bad near schools where schoolchildren can be seen riding motorcycles without any fear of law. These drivers stand out in their school uniforms. The teenagers seem to be unaware of the risk they pose to other drivers and particularly to themselves.

Parents also need to understand their responsibility,not only towards their children,but also towards the society.

At present parents are yielding to their children’s demands and letting them drive their vehicles or in many cases buying them new ones.

Meanwhile,the traffic police have issued only 181 challans for underage driving in the district in the first eight months of the year.

The numbers of challans in the Mohali city stands at 85. Chandigarh has issued 324 challans in the same period for the same violation.

Panchkula has fared the worst with only 29 challans being issued.

The traffic police is terribly understaffed to keep up with the traffic needs of a growing city like Mohali,with only 84 personnel at present.

When contacted by the Newsline,Amritpal Singh,Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP Traffic),said,“The majority of the period in contention,I was not handling the traffic department. Now,we have deployed traffic constables outside schools in order to curb the menace of underage driving.”

The DSP added that a Traffic Education Cell has been constituted by Gurpreet Singh Bhullar,Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP),Mohali.

The cell would focus on increasing awareness among youngsters,parents and teachers about the issue.

The main focus on visiting schools,colleges and other educational institutes and conducting regular programmes to educate youngsters.