Licence to Die
Aradhika sekhon

THE death of two below 18 schoolboys while driving a scooter in Chandigarh on March 20, has again highlighted the fact that the city roads are becoming increasingly unsafe. Also highlighted is the fact that in spite of education and awareness about traffic rules, the number of accidents and traffic offences continue to rise.

The police has identified some typical categories of offenders. While the truck and tractor drivers and rickshaw-pullers constitute one category, the other category comprises people who take pride in violating rules. The police blame both equally.

The day after the horrifying accident, some newspapers published photographs of several underage schoolchildren driving two-wheelers, quite unfazed and undeterred by the incident .

On the other hand is the example of Chandi Mandir, which owing to stringent rules and policing that do not allow anyone to enter or exit the cantonment without a helmet, has been successful in rooting out this particular traffic offence.True, it was the unfortunate death of the two teenaged daughters of Brig Grewal several months ago that acted as a trigger, but the efficacy of the measures taken is unarguable.

Whenever such a tragedy does take place, everybody’s mission becomes to find a scapegoat. It could be the police or the school authorities or the parents. But before looking for someone to blame, we need to take a broader sociological view of the problem . How much responsibility can each one of these institutions take for having created that crazy youngster on the road who weaves his way in and out of the fast-moving traffic, yelling and whooping, waving his helmet about, deliberately courting death? A large number of students in the city are free to go to school by their own transport—cycles, scooters, or motor cycles. But educating them on traffic or road sense isn’t really that’s taken on by schools; nor are there any traffic-related workshops that are mandatory.

Says Col J.S. Narang, Administrator, St Soldier International School, “It’s the policy of our school to allow scooters to only those students who have valid licences . We’ve been fairly vigilant over this aspect but now we will be even more so. We cannot afford to let students die like that. “ But if boys whip off their helmets beyond school timings or premises, how can the school authorities be held accountable? A more permanent remedy would be to incorporate from the very beginning into the child’s psyche that it’s not smart to be unsafe. Policing the roads could be a way out, and in fact the police in town is much more vigilant than in most other places in Punjab and Haryana. During high-pressure events like Valentine’s Day and Holi, policemen are out in strength and normally manage to curb any untoward incidents.

Subash Mehta, ASI in charge of the children’s traffic park, says that approximately 16,000 students were covered through the traffic education programmes conducted by the police last year. He localises the problem to parents who buy their children vehicles and even procure licences made in Punjab and Haryana for them.

Col Narang gives an example of the typical parental attitude. “One day a parent came to me. He’d bought a brand new scooter, filled it with petrol, got a licence and handed it over to his son. Now he wanted me to control his son’s rash driving and his usage of the scooter.”

Most parents say that the overload of studies and the fact that a child has to reach from one tuition to another is the main reason for giving in to their demands for driving two-wheelers despite being underage. “It’s impossible for me to drive my daughter to school and back and then to her tuitions. My daughter takes three tuitions, all in different sectors. How does she get about without a vehicle?”, asks Mrs Sheela Choudhry, whose daughter studies in Class XII.

Ms Inderpreet Kaur, a sociology teacher says, “The whole thing boils down to a sense of responsibility—parental, civic and social. When parents themselves give the wrong messages to their children, how can the kids grow up to be responsible adults? How often have we seen a three-four -year-old child, on his father’s knee, behind the wheel of a car ? In addition, when a parent tells his son to wear a helmet, warning that he’ll be challaned, what the teenager hears is, “It’s OK not to wear a helmet as long as you don’t get caught”While giving children the freedom of choice and freedom of lifestyle, the older generation has failed to inculcate in them that essential attendant to freedom— a sense of responsibility. 

Have maxi-taxis for tuition-hopping kids
Mala Sivaram

TAKE a modern city with broad roads but a medieval bus service. Mix it with a predominant upper middle class, indulgent parents, and the television generation. The result—the combustible two-wheeled teenaged crowd in Chandigarh, adorning magazine pages since long. Chandigarh has acquired a nationwide image of attractive teeny boppers zipping all over, without helmets, the gehri route becoming as famous as the Rock garden.

The recent tragic deaths of two scooter-borne schoolboys, Rahil and Charandeep, has opened up floodgates on debates about the excessive two- wheeler usage by below 18 city youngsters. But the incident has not thrown much focus on an important area—the city's public transport system.

Mr K.K.Kuppuswamy, a senior citizen and grandfather, has this to say about Chandigarh’s public transport system, “It is at the same non existent level which I saw during my three-year stint in the city between 1974-77. It is as if these 23 years never passed by. Vast improvement in this system is the need of the hour”. If the Government has failed, public pressure must be brought, principally by parents, for provision of alternatives like maxi-taxis (11-12 seaters) for their wards.

Ask any parent about the UT’s public transport system. At best it brings a tired smile, but more usually a derisive comment on the “lousy and totally undependable service”. Laments Ms Bhupinder Chawla, “Against my better judgment, I had to give in to my sons’ requests for a bike, like it or not. Bicycling being improbable and the erratic bus service leading to late attendance in class left me with no choice.” She calls upon the Administration to take on the responsibility of training and issuing licences to the teenagers!

Today’s coaching/tuition culture, which has led to a quantum jump in mobility needs, is also widely quoted as a reason for under-18s using scooters and motorbikes. Parents who do not give in are indeed a minority. Says Mrs Ranjit Kaur, “Despite my ward’s persistent demand for a heavier vehicle I did not give in.” Many more parents chorus this firmness although evidence points to the contrary.

The classic big city malaise of eve-teasing is also an oft-cited reason for girls using two-wheelers. Recalls Gopika Bhardwaj, “I virtually fought a daily battle for a two-wheeler, principally because of the eve-teasing during bus journeys from home to college. In the 1980s, parents gave in less easily and I had to complete college without a two-wheeler.”

Are these the only reasons? Or do issues such as peer pressure on children, exposure to western culture, deeper money pockets or indulgent parents also contribute to growing traffic and accidents involving two wheelers on roads? Speed thrills but kills. “Speed is certainly addictive”, asserts Mr Kuppuswamy, be it a seasoned driver or a Class XI student. Scientists are yet inconclusive about its causes. Giving schoolchildren the magic wheels at a tender age only adds to their woes and whims.

Free, easy credit has also pushed several parents into buying two-wheelers for their children, the promotional blitz creating the demand and justification. Indeed, people get sold on the vehicle- credit package and justify buying the other with logic.

But shouldn’t the children be taught, at least be lectured, on maintaining road discipline, following traffic rules? Halting at lights is rare, helmets are not always worn, speeding up near lights or roundabouts is common. In other words, parents are not following the classic dictum: “If you set the behaviour standards, you do not need to set the rules.”

The same teenager goes abroad and completely follows the local law because there is consistency and certainty of legal consequences.

Parents need to discipline children more, to get them to behave more responsibly and to let them face consequences of breaches. The Administration too needs to do serious work on offering alternative modes of transport to children.