Minor driving and riding is a serious offense, but sadly in India, we don’t take these rules seriously. We have seen several videos online where underage kids are driving SUVs or two-wheelers on public roads. In most cases, kids drive these vehicles with the knowledge of their parents, and that is what makes things even worse. Here, we have a video where a man lets an underage school girl ride a scooter while he poses for the video on camera.
The video has been shared by Kumar Manish on his X profile. The exact location of this incident is not known. In this video, we see a man sitting on the pillion seat of a TVS Jupiter scooter. The scooter doesn’t have a registration number plate, and we assume that it is a new scooter. The man was actually on his way to drop the kid off at school.
What we see here is that the man is comfortably sitting on the pillion seat of the scooter while the underage school girl is riding the scooter. We doubt if the kid is even in her teens. She is seen riding the scooter with confidence, while the man sits comfortably at the rear. The kid seems pretty confident, which means this is not the first time she has done something like this.
Another issue in this video is that both the rider and the pillion are not wearing any helmets. If the kid loses balance for some reason, the chances of them getting severe injuries are pretty high. We all know that a helmet saves the rider from head injuries in the case of an accident. The kid is riding the scooter on busy public roads, and she is even seen overtaking other vehicles on the road.
The video was recorded by someone who was passing through the same area, and when the man spotted the camera, he even waved at it without realizing his mistakes.
The man is clearly putting the life of the kid and other road users at risk by letting her ride a scooter. The video was posted online with a caption, ‘The sense of children’s safety among Indian parents is an alien concept. In any European country, he would have lost all his rights over the child for endangering her life.’
The comment section under this video has reactions like, ‘Parents feel on top of the world when their kids do such feats. Makes them proud. A sense of accomplishment,’ ‘He’s giving thumbs up like he’s about to receive some national medal,’ and ‘Many Indian drivers are another species. They do not care for children and others, nor for themselves too. It is an old incident but tells a lot. A bus driver allowed a monkey to drive his bus.’
In India, you are legally allowed to apply for a driving license at the age of 18. If you are found riding or driving a vehicle before that, it is considered illegal, and cops can actually seize your vehicle and take action against the parents or the actual owner of the vehicle.
Driving is a responsible act, and young kids often tend to not understand the seriousness of the situation, making bad judgments on the road. By allowing kids to drive on public roads, you are not only putting their lives at risk but also the lives of other road users.”