[SJM1214]

Came across this news cutting at one my FB group.


I googled the same and found a full-fledged news link. It seems like the first case of " Owner liable if minor is involved in accident: Supreme Court"

Mom booked after minor son dies riding bike.

In a first, the city traffic police have registered a case against a woman whose son, a minor, lost his life in a road accident in Mogappair late on Wednesday riding a two-wheeler owned by her.

In an effort to bring down the number of accidents caused by minor riders and to act as a deterrent, the traffic police late last month hit upon the idea of penalising the parents of such riders and have now implemented it. In Hyderabad last month, the traffic police had conducted a massive crackdown against underage riders and sent at least 10 parents to jail for a day for allowing their children to drive vehicles.

News Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/63635532.cms

[sgiitk]

I think the liability in such cases lies with the vehicle owner and/or the parents. May sound harsh but is correct. Let us hope it leads to an improvement in our manners.

[katchkamalesh]

I might be wrong here

I suspect that the bike was bought for the kid.

Since we cannot register a vehicle in the name of a minor, it was probably registered in the name of the mother. I say this because I see a lot of school kids riding motorcycles in Chennai.

Not long ago a teen crashed a ZX 14R (owned by a school student) into a mechanic.

[binand]

Originally Posted by katchkamalesh

Since we cannot register a vehicle in the name of a minor...

Don't think this is correct. Nothing that stops minors from owning property.

[SJM1214]

26 parents jailed in Hyderabad for allowing minors to drive.

In a massive crackdown against underage driving, the Hyderabad traffic police has arrested 26 parents in the last two months for allowing their children to drive on the road, leading to major accidents.

“In April 20 parents were sent to jail by the court and this month 6 parents were sent to jail, so a total of 26 parents were sent to jail in last two months,” Anil Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Traffic Police of Hyderabad told news agency ANI.

The Hyderabad Traffic Police has developed a program, including counselling sessions and registering of First Information Reports (FIR), to make both the children and parents aware of the consequences of allowing minors to drive.

The strict action comes after a reported increase in incidents of minors getting involved in accidents.

News Source : https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nati...-to-drive.html

[sdp1975]

13 year old girl driving a car runs over man in Tiruppur. No arrests have been made following requests by the girl's family since the girl was "learning how to drive".

https://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...ht-cctv-113444

[wheelguy]

A 10 year old kid was found driving in an Alto at Hyderabad outer ring road while the elder was sitting next to him in front passenger seat:

And when reported to the concerned authorities on Twitter, this was the action (generating e-challans) taken:

I don't think this will suffice for such an idiotic and careless behaviour by the child's elders, I would like to see the vehicle seized for life.

Source

[Jeroen]

I have seen similar court rulings or insurance cases going this way across the world.

In all cases the ruling is based on putting reasonable care and due diligence on the owner of the vehicle. Of course, you should never ever let a minor drive. But it goes further than that. As an owner you need to take reasonable precautions on minors taking your car or thieves stealing it. Which comes down to not leaving the car keys just anywhere obviously.

You would be surprised to see how many people leave all keys to the house, cars, bikes etc in one convenient place. Like a saucer in the kitchen entrance, or hall etc.

I am sort of in two minds on this. I do believe as an owner you do have some responsibility in ensuring your vehicle is not used in an un-authorized way. And when there are teenagers about, it is probably not good enough to tell them not to drive your car/bike!
At the same time, how far do we need to take this? Do I need to put my car keys in a safe in my own house?

I am not sure how this works in India. But in many western countries, parents are responsible for whatever their under age kids get themselves into.

So in this case, had it happened in the Netherlands, the parents of the nephew would have probably been responsible and liable, unless the vehicle owner had been extremely careless.

It is one of the reasons, many Dutch families will take out general third party insurance. To pay for the damage your kids do to others. With three kids, it was probably the best insurance I ever had. My kids managed to get themselves into some expensive trouble when they were little!

Jeroen

[BenjiRoss]

The news item about the above 10 year old says that the police used the video of a child driving to issue an e-challan to the owner (? Parent). No further action had been taken. There was no accident.
https://www.cartoq.com/kid-driving-video-ring-road/

https://youtu.be/NJnPx14vPto

I wonder if laws should be made more severe when parents do this.
Interestingly the car had multiple echallans in
the past.
The present challann is for rs. 2000

The Tweet also claims that the car stopped before the exit of the ORR and changed the drivers so that the cops don’t catch them.

The fine issued by the cops is only for Rs 2,000 according to the receipt. The fines were issued included Disobedience of orders for Rs 500, Dangerous Driving for Rs 1,000 and Minor driving the vehicle for Rs 500. The total fine is for Rs 2,000.

[ruzbehxyz]

Here is a similar incident where the police have enforced a huge fine of Rs 26,000 on the father after his son was caught riding a motorcycle without any valid documents.

The incident happened in the outskirts of Cuttack. The cops stopped the riders on a regular police check post to verify the documents. However, it turns out that the rider who was on the bike is of 17 years. His father was riding pillion on the bike and both the riders did not have a helmet.

The cops slapped two fines on the riders. A fine of Rs 1,000 was issued for not wearing a helmet while riding on the public roads. The second fine of Rs 25,000 was issued for the rider who was juvenile. In total, the cops issued a fine of Rs 26,000. The cops issued the fines under the sections 194D (Riding without Helmets by Driver and Pillion) and 199A (Offences by juveniles).

Also, the bike has now been impounded by the cops and will be released once the fine is paid by the defaulter. In case, the violator does not pay the fine, the cops may even cancel the registration of the bike and suspend the driving license of the owner of the bike.

Source: https://www.cartoq.com/father-fined-...n-scooter/amp/