Mumbai Mirror

• So far, under-18s caught at the steering wheel have been punished; now, those who give them the car keys will also be booked, say traffic police 

Mumbai, Oct 22: Alarmed by increasing cases of under-18s taking to the steering wheel, the city police have decided to prosecute not only offending minors in such cases but also the owner of the vehicle who has given them the car keys.

The car owner - be it the parents, friends or relatives of the minor - will be booked under Section 180 of the Motor Vehicles Act and can face imprisonment of up to three years and be fined up to Rs 1,000. Minors are already booked under this section for driving.

"A case will be made against the person in whose name the vehicle is registered," Vijay Kamble, joint commissioner of police, traffic, told Mumbai Mirror.  The provision of booking the car-owner has always existed in the Act but traffic police have been lax in enforcing it.Kamble said the rise in the number of cases of under-18s driving illegally and mounting concern across the city over this issue had prompted traffic cops to "strongly enforce" this provision.

"Recently, we have had cases where minors were caught driving their father's car. Even in the Adnan Patrawala case, the car was being driven by a 16-year-old. We have to tackle this issue at the parents' end. There is no point fining the minor alone. We plan to send a strong message to the owner of the vehicle so that they refrain from handing over their vehicles to minors," Kamble said.

Not a minor offence

In the first week of October, three 15-year-olds tried to drive a Qualis all the way to Goa on an impromptu weekend picnic. The vehicle belonged to the father of one of the teenagers.

In another case, a 22-year-old youth was produced in the Bandra metropolitan court for driving a vehicle owned by his father.

He is not a minor; his mistake was that he did not have a driving licence. The court sentenced the youth to a day in prison and told him to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 while his father was only told to pay a fine of Rs 1,000.

Cracking the whip

The police is already cracking down on drunk driving, irrespective of age. By most indications, the campaign has been a success.

Now, "Along with drunken driving, we will also focus on minors at the wheel," Kamble said. "We have plans to take every offender to court. This will certainly deter youngsters and car-owners."

Punishment for minor drivers

As per Section 180 of the Motor Vehicles Act, a person who hands over his vehicle to a minor to drive can be made to pay a fine of up to Rs 1,000 and be imprisoned for up to three months. The minor also faces a similar fine and prison term. The offence is a bailable one.