Amid rising cases of driving negligence especially by minors in India, Punjab Police will start taking strict action beginning from July 31. If a minor is caught driving a bike, scooty, car, then the parents will be jailed for 3 years. If the minor is driving someone else's vehicle, then the owner will be punished.
ADGP (Traffic) of Punjab has issued orders to SSPs and Police Commissioners of all districts in this regard. In case of underage driving, action will be taken against the parents or the vehicle owner under Section 199A and 199B of the Motor Vehicle Act (Amendment 2019).
According to the order of ADGP, after July 31, if any underage driving i.e. a child below 18 years of age is found driving a two-wheeler or car etc., then action will be taken against his parents or the vehicle owner. In this regard, the Police Commissioners and all SSPs have been asked to run awareness drives throughout the month of July. During the awareness campaign, the Police will make parents and vehicle owners aware.
Other vehicle owners should also be told in this matter that they should not give their vehicle to any child below 18 years of age. If the police catches them, then in that case action will be taken against the owner after seeing the registration of the vehicle.
Punjab Police has earlier also banned coming out of the sunroof of a moving car. As per reports, ADGP had issued an order in this regard and said that luxury cars have sunroofs. Children or adults come out of them on the National Highway or other roads and create a ruckus. This distracts the driver. In such a situation, accidents happen. Police is preparing to impose fine on those who violate the order.
Road Safety Force has been formed on the lines of Canada to prevent road accidents in Punjab. This is the first force of its kind in the country which has been deployed only on highways. It helps people in case of vehicle problems, accidents or other emergencies. The force has 5 thousand policemen and 130 modern vehicles.
As per reports, the Punjab government has implemented the Farishte Scheme. Under the scheme, if someone gets injured in a road accident, the person who immediately takes him to the hospital will be honored with 2 thousand rupees and a certificate. The police will not question this helper in any way. The treatment of the injured will be free in every hospital for the first 48 hours.