India: Parents jailed for letting underage children drive

As part of a campaign to reduce underage driving, parents of 10 teenagers have been sentenced to a day in prison for letting their minor children drive in the Indian city of Hyderabad. According to the BBC, the parents who were jailed said that they were unaware of a rule which says they would be held responsible for allowing a minor to drive. More than 150,000 people were killed on India s roads in 2016, according to figures released by the government. The sentencing comes in the wake of a campaign that aims to create awareness among the people about the perils of underage driving. Last month, the police said 35 parents served a one-day jail term for the same reason, reported the BBC. “I was unaware of [underage driving] rule. My 17-year-old son took his bike to go for his tutorial. And we were sent to prison,” said Shakeel Ahmed. A senior police officer said he hoped spending a day or two in jail would encourage parents to think twice before letting children use their vehicles. “In the last two months, four children died in the city because they were driving vehicles. As part of the drive to curb this, we have charged over 1,000 people for underage driving,” a senior police officer told the BBC. Bangalore also tried to promote safe driving last year, with the city s police tracking down five teenagers who posted videos of themselves performing risky road stunts. Since they were under 18 years old, the police arrested their parents instead. Source: The News