Staff reporter
GUWAHATI, May 13 – They are a threat to people on the road, not to speak of the risk to their own lives. Underage drivers on the road in and around Guwahati have emerged as a major problem, with lives already being lost or impaired. In recent months a sizeable number of road accidents involve underage drivers in one way or the other. Traffic police personnel agree that the problem has become more acute in the last few years with more underage drivers on the road than ever before. ‘No one knows for sure how many underage drivers are there on bikes or behind wheels in Guwahati, who may not even have driving licenses,’ said a police personnel.
Most underage drivers either do not have valid driving licenses or have not undertaken any driving course stipulated by the Transport department.
Consequently, they are unaware of traffic rules, and are prone to rash driving. Last year, in more than a dozen accident cases, the underage drivers were found to be untrained and a few without licenses.
In recent times, with hardly any police checks on the arterial routes, young boys and girls without licenses are having a field day driving their vehicles. Although there have been checks on two-wheeler drivers without helmets, there have been no noticeable drives against under age drivers.
The problem gets acute after dark with many underage drivers getting inebriated and taking to the roads. The lack of training combined with alcohol intake is a deadly brew for the drivers as well as others on the road. Hapless citizens are wondering when the police and the transport department will take much needed action to curb the menace.
