Gurugram: After the pandemic year saw an unusual rise in the number of underage driving cases amid the nationwide Covid lockdown, the Gurugram Police is now all set to start a campaign against juvenile driving in the city just as several educational institutes for secondary and higher secondary students reopen.
With parents still reluctant to use school buses, most of these students who have volunteered to come to schools are using independent modes of transport.
As a precautionary measure, the Gurugram Police has hence started this campaign. The fine for underage driving is at Rs 5,000 and if an accident occurs with a minor at the wheel, their parents can also be acted upon.
Underage driving is one of the major law and order challenges. The dangers of underage driving were witnessed last year when a senior Multinational Company professional who was out cycling was mowed down by a high speeding car driven by a juvenile. There have been several other incidents in Gurugram where private buses, autos have also been driven by juveniles.
In 2020, 165 cases of underage driving were reported in Gurugram, up from 30 last year. This year too, the number is on the higher side, with 40 such cases registered till the end of August.
Besides underage driving, Gurugram also faces a lot of challenges in terms of wrong side driving over speeding and reckless driving.
Taking cognizance of the rising number of road accidents, plans are now being made to increase, improve and enhance pedestrian networks and cycling tracks in urban Gurugram — spread over an area of 338 square kilometers.
In the coming years, Gurugram authorities plan to develop 1,083 kilometers of pedestrian networks and 797 kilometers of cycling tracks.
There are plans to improve designing systems of several roads, enhance signal systems and improve street lighting systems to prevent deadly mishaps. Officials are also working towards reducing the time taken for an accident victim to be taken to the nearest hospital from an average time of 16 minutes as of now to 10 minutes.
"We will now be focussing our attention on traffic and reducing the number of accidents in Gurugram. Underage driving is one of the biggest challenges and we will soon be launching a campaign to reduce incidents of underage driving," said a senior official of Gurugram traffic police.