It was a tragic Sunday as three teenagers were killed in an accident at Verna. It is yet to be ascertained how the accident occurred or who was driving the car that went off the road and fell into a ravine. Those who died in the accident are all minors. Police succeeded in retrieving the trio from the ravine and rushed them to Hospicio, Margao. However, all three were declared dead on arrival. The accident occurred at an isolated spot and nobody witnessed it. Since none of the three occupants of the car survived, there is nobody who can explain what occurred.
Now, with minors driving the car at high speeds, who should be held responsible for the accident? The victims themselves or the parents? The accident has thrown open a fresh major question of why is the State dragging its feet on implementing the new amendments of the Motor Vehicle Act, passed by Parliament. The amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act were to have come into effect from September 1, 2019. According to new law, driving errors are going to make a huge dent in a person’s monthly budget. This means that giving a minor the keys to the car will turn into an expensive affair.
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As per the new law, if the vehicle is used by a child, then the registration of the vehicle may be cancelled for one year. Once the period of one year is over, the owner will have to submit a fresh application for the registration of the vehicle. As per newly inserted section, 199A and 199B of the Act, the person can be fined a sum of Rs 25,000 and face imprisonment of up to three years. As for the minor child, he will not be able to get a learner’s licence till the age of 25. As per the Act, there will be an annual increase of these fines by up to 10 per cent. But sadly, this law – which will discourage parents allowing minor children to drive vehicles – is yet to be implemented in Goa.
Interestingly, as per reports there were 285 road accidents of which 29 were fatal (North Goa – 12 and South Goa – 17), 17 grievous accidents (North Goa – 7 and South Goa – 7), 72 minor accidents (North Goa – 20 and South Goa – 52) and 170 non-injury accidents (North Goa – 111 and South Goa –59). In many of the fatal accidents, police say, minors or unauthorised drivers were involved.
Former Transport Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar was right when he said that the State government was responsible for the Verna accident as it had failed to implement the law enacted by the NDA government at the Centre. The reasons for minors driving vehicles is that the system is handicapped, there is no fear of law. People are being killed because minors drive and do so recklessly. Both, parents and police, need to take this seriously. Parents need to understand that the responsibility lies with them. No school allows students to bring vehicles. It is the parents who start giving a free hand to young children for weekend getaways or parties. Imagine the scenario in the age of ‘nuclear’ families with a single child. If the child is injured or something worse happens, it affects the entire family.
Not just India, but even USA has passed a law that holds a parent or guardian responsible for their minor driver, under a legal concept known as ‘vicarious liability’. Now what holds back the Dr Pramod Sawant government to implement the law is not known. It’s time that Sawant and Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho decide to implement the law keeping aside political compulsions for the sake of our children.
