Underage driving: A crime

Posted on November 1, 2006
Filed Under >Bilal Zuberi, Law & Justice, Society
20 Comments
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Bilal Zuberi

How many of us can say we don’t know anybody who drives underage in Pakistan? Chances are that many of us would know of cousins, relatives and friends (maybe even ourselves) who have driven a car or a motorcycle in Pakistan while being under the legal driving age, and without holding a government issued drivers’ license. Why is that so?

Over the years, our society has unfortunately become more complacent about underage driving than before, and more kids are growing up learning that it is ‘cool‘ to drive young, to drive fast, and to risk it with the law. The parallel assumption is that if they were to be caught by the police, a little rishwat (bribery) and connections in the Police or military will get them out in no time.

The result of this criminal neglect from parents and other elders (and I don’t use that word loosely here) is an increased danger of fatal traffic accidents that now exists on roads. Underage kids are not only untrained drivers, but they can also be more prone to road-rage, over-excitement & speeding, and incapable of making split second decisions. I lost a friend in a freak accident that involved an underage driver, and a recent news item in the Daily Times reminded me of the pain one more time:

KARACHI: A 17-year-old boy driving a bus of route 20 was arrested Sunday night for hitting and killing a man and his five-year-old daughter near Habib Chowrangi, SITE. According to the police and witness accounts, the bus driver lost control while over speeding. The bus first hit a police motorcycle that was parked in front of the DC’s office and later smashed into a running motorcycle.

The motorcycle rider identified as 35-year-old Saleem and his five-year-old daughter Iqra died on the spot, while his wife Uzma and his older daughter, seven-year-old Aiman, were injured. When the accident happened passers-by gathered around the scene and caught the driver of the bus. They were surprised to discover that he was a teenager and did not have a driving license or a National Identity Card.

The actual bus driver was said to be ill and was sleeping on a back seat when the accident took place. He handed over the steering wheel to the bus cleaner, Afridi, before going to sleep.

I have noticed young boys in Karachi often riding motorcycles recklessly, but I had not realized they were now also driving large buses and lorries. In this particular case it is easy to identify the real driver as the guilty person, but in other situations I have actually noticed parents actively encourging kids to drive when they are neither trained, nor authorized to.

Sometimes it starts with a short run to fetch groceries from nearby markets, and sometimes its just a little ride ride around the block for fun. But before you know it, kids are given the responsibility of driving family around elders are not available. This short-sightedness is a terrible mistake. It does not help kids grow up confident, as a relative asserted once. It only increases the risk of the kid getting into a terrible accident.

When will we learn that with plenty of other problems affecting us, there is no need to inflict otherwise avoidable tragedies on our people? This time a family of 4 is left grieving forever, the next time it could be a larger crowd waiting at a bus station? It could be someone we love dearly.

There is no reason for kids to be driving motorcycles or cars untrained and without a license. Kids of driving age should first attend driving schools to learn all the rules, and then they must obtain the driver’s license the way their counterparts do in other countries. Not only should the Police come down hard on this, but it is a responsibility we must also all bear in the society. We have to start from our homes, our families, and our friends. It may not be fashionable, but it is safe.

20 responses to “Underage driving: A crime”

  1. Hammad says:

    guys comeone, i mean seriously? there is seriously no harm in driving underage as long as u have an idea of how to drive. i myself started driving when i was 12 but with adult supervision and by the time i was 14 i was driving by my self. now what im trying to say here is that there is no harm in driving aslong you have gone through proper training before with someone who knows how to drive and as for those idiots or burgers who have no idea how to drive and take their whole family or friends out for a ride should NOT at all be allowed to drive. i know so many other people, children who are underage and drive but they drive way better than anyone else i know so aslong as they have a sense of whats going on and how the traffic works i think theres noproblem. I mean after all this is the reason we all love Pakistan!! i live in Canada atm and cant wait to be back!!! :]

  2. Waqas says:

    “Underage” is not the only keyword here, undertrained is the problem. Being 18 doesn’t make you a good driver, what percentage of adult drivers in Pakistan can be categorized as “good drivers”? People don’t know about lanes and they don’t know who has the right of way in what situation…

    Many states in the US give license at the age of 16 1/2 or 17 if you have had enough training in High School and have had a certain number of hours on the road under adult supervision but the rules for license suspension are stricter for teenagers. In Pakistan you don’t need to know anything to have a license, heck you don’t even need a license.

  3. Babbaloo says:

    i do think that underage driving should be permitted because children mature faster than you think and they shouldnt have to be put in jail for driving around with their friends just for fun. there are so many people getting into trouble for stuff that they shouldnt nowadays, like, forinstance, a kid in New Jersey, USA was suspended from school for 2 months just for drawing a picture of him and his friend playing with waterguns!! i think that is totally unfair, just like not being able to drive till your halfway through your golden years!!

  4. Siddhu says:

    This could be a post about Indian underage drivers, just as well. But some ^*&s shouldn’t be issued licenses at all. Like this kid I know who seriously injured an old man with his reckless driving. He was over 18, and had a ‘valid’ license (as valid as it gets). But guess what? He’s a judge’s son, and he gets away, though the old man is hospitalised.

    Its all because neither India nor Pakistan reorganised their police forces and judiciary, which are both relics of colonial instruments of suppression.

    And those wild kids on that bike (in pic), riding like they own the earth – with no crash helmets in sight!? Disgusting — wish it was just themselves that they endangered.

  5. zainab says:

    your thinking is good
    ithink that our police is a bit making problem for us

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