Sir,

In our country road accidents are increasing year after year and more than 1.5 lakh people are killed and 4 to 5 lakh people are injured every year. To reduce the accidental deaths, road safety guidelines under the banner of ‘Golden Rules’  also have been issued by Transport Research Wing of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (GoI).

However, people are taking chance while driving on the road and violating all types of road safety rules. In the recent past, several incidences of people driving the cars by allowing the kids on the lap of driver (see photo) are being  noticed within the city limits.

Incidentally, in all these three cases, there were people sitting next to the driver and in one incident the child was asleep. This is a very dangerous practice and road safety is at stake for self and other road-users.

In many foreign countries no child is allowed to sit in the front seat and every child up to 16 years need to use child restraint and based on the actual age of the child, the facing of the restraint also varies. The driver may be perfectly driving even with the kid on the lap, however, in an emergency, the kid may become a hindrance to take a quick action while on the road. Hence, this practice should be discouraged by elders for the safety of themselves and other road-users and the property.

– A concerned citizen & Member, Mysuru City Traffic Advisory Committee, Mysuru, 6.12.2017

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