The problem of underage drivers is one of the most important ones facing the nation today. It is clear that parents have abdicated their responsibility and expect the school to educate children. It is not working. Discipline is a word unknown in the Indian vocabulary— whether it is at home, school or on the road. We can’t stand in a queue. We don’t stop at red lights. We don’t respect zebra crossings. We love taking shortcuts. We do everything to make driving dangerous.

Education begins at home. School comes at a later stage. To drive home this point, Union Minister of Women and Child Development Renuka Choudhary has made a brilliant suggestion. Book the parents. After all, the behaviour of children is a direct reflection of their upbringing, and it is an established fact that Indian children are not well behaved. The parents are responsible for their children at all times. Then come schools.

The UT police has issued strict instructions to schools to control traffic coming in and out of schools. What happens when children get on to the road after school gets over? They head home on their bicycles and take the wrong side of the road. Indisciplined and irresponsible. These children may get good marks in school but they will be poor citizens.

They are the ones who will overtake from the left, jump red lights and go down a one-way street in the wrong direction. And why not? They grew up doing this. These children are going to be the foundations of our future society, and judging by road conditions today, there is going to be total chaos on the roads. Some parents proudly say: “Our 10-year-old boy is a good driver.”

At other times parents express helplessness. “Children these days are very independent. They don’t listen to us.” So, underage children become terror on the streets, may be killers. Why should innocent lives be lost because of irresponsible parents? In many developed countries juvenile delinquents are taken away from parents and are ‘taken care of’ by the state. Reason? When parents are incapable of providing parental guidance, it becomes the duty of the state to do so.

We don’t have such a system. So booking the parents is the only recourse left. The UT police has tripled the fines for underage drivers. It won’t be a deterrent. The rich and spoilt children will remain rich and spoilt. A sum of Rs1,500 does not make a dent in their pockets. Impound the car and haul up the parents. The UT police says if a minor is challaned thrice, the licence of the parent will be cancelled. This is a soft approach. Why give the child two more chances to be a terror on the road?

Studies show that an underage driver is four times more accident-prone than an adult. Knowing that, he is being given two more chances to prove he is a menace on the roads. Unfortunately, the administration has no options today except to book the parents of the defaulter children.