Sir,
This has reference to the tragic death of three of a family near Dandi Maramma Temple on Mysuru-Bengaluru Road when a car driven by a minor hit the median and jumped to the other side of the road and hit the two-wheeler coming from the other side (Star of Mysore dated Dec.11). Next, it was reported that N.R. Traffic Police have registered a case under IPC Section 304 and the father was remanded to judicial custody.

The Motor Vehicles Act (Amendment) September 2019 provides the following for the offence committed by the juvenile:

Hefty penalties for violating traffic norms, including a Rs. 25,000 fine and may face three years of imprisonment to Guardian/owner for an offence committed by a juvenile. Guardian/owner shall be deemed to be guilty of offences by juveniles.

Additionally, the registration of the motor vehicle will be cancelled, and the juvenile will be tried under JJ Act.

Juvenile committing such an offence will not be eligible to get driving licence or learners licence until the age of 25 years.

It is reported that many accidents happen hitting the medians. Prof. Dinesh Mohan, a Transportation expert of international repute, needs to be consulted for he has commented on median issue.

In this connection, I wish to mention that during my recent visit to Bengaluru on Mysuru-Bengaluru road which is being widened to 10 lanes, absence of road signs and markings were noticed in some places. Since it is under construction, it is doubly necessary to pay attention to this problem and more particularly during night-time for many accidents happen during late night driving or early morning.

– H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, retired Chief Engineer, Saraswathipuram, 15.12.2020

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