Youths as main victims of road accidents; underage driving rampant in Chittoor

TIRUPATI: Youths are among the main victims of road accidents in Chittoor district. A study of accidents in the region in the past three months showed that those under the age of 30 formed 15 per cent of the fatalities.

A total of 188 accidents were reported in the district during this period, of which 77 were fatal. Of them, 11 fatalities, as well as offenders of road, crashes comprised youths. Among the 203 injured, 56 were below age 30.

“People below 30 years are most vulnerable due to their sheer number in the streets. Most offenders also belong to this age-group, possibly because many of them are new drivers,” a road expert observed.

While the police blame peer pressure and pampering from parents as the major reasons for rash driving among the youth, some parents blame the bad conditions. Police also note there is a severe shortage of road infrastructure, set against a quantum jump in the volume of vehicular traffic. The entry of two-wheelers with high speed systems made the scenario worse.

“There has been a spurt in underage driving. Parents must discourage their children from riding vehicles at a tender age. They should remember that they too would be punished under the Juvenile Justice Act when there is under-age driving, a police official said.

Some parents say it is the collective responsibility of parents, teachers, the government and the police to curb the menace of underage driving. “Parents should keep a close vigil on their children. Teachers should educate students about the dangers of underage driving. The government should improve public transport and roads systems. Police must take strong steps like impounding of vehicles and imposing heavy fines on the errant,” said Kamala Subbarayudu, a business woman from Tirupati.

Officials said over 500 people die in road accidents in the erstwhile Chittoor district every year. In several of these cases, the victims are youngsters. The main reasons for fatal accidents are underage driving, not wearing helmets, not using seat belts, drunk driving, not following rules, using cellphones while riding or driving, and over-speed.

"True, there are also some issues of faulty road engineering and design that need to be addressed to reduce road accidents," they admitted.