the goan I network
SANGUEM
While relatives and friends continue to mourn the sudden and untimely deaths of three minor boys in a tragic road mishap at Verna plateau on Sunday, there have been growing calls for parents and police to imbibe and enforce traffic discipline among minors.
Speaking to The Goan, most people from different walks of life in and around Sanguem felt it was futile to blame the parents and police for the fatal mishap which claimed the lives of Ethan Ivan Fernandes (15) and Joshua William Barreto (15), both from Curchorem, and Rowan Xavier Sequeira (14) of Pangulna-Sanguem.
They, however, insisted on an urgent response and mechanism at the state level to prevent similar mishaps and tragedies in future, especially since an increasing number of youth have been tempted to violate traffic rules.
Most people contacted by The Goan expressed dismay with many parents for having failed to inculcate traffic discipline, by gifting or handing over vehicles to minor children.
They also felt that police have largely failed to check for rash and negligent driving by minor children in general and insist that the police must take stringent action to punish the offenders as it would also serve as a deterrent to other children.
“Many parents hand over keys of vehicles to their children for leisure driving. Why should parents allow their children to drive cars and two-wheelers when they are hardly 12-14 years old? Why can’t they have patience and hand over vehicles to their children only when they are at a legal age to drive,” wondered Messiah D’costa, a youth leader and social worker from Sanguem.
“Law enforcement agencies in the State should permanently close the road at Verna plateau, which is allegedly used by youth for leisure activities. The trend is that the police will ban such activities in the area only when tragedies take place. When the issue is forgotten, the youth will return to the deadly track, thereby risking their lives. The stretch of road should be forever closed,” said D’Costa.
An assistant public prosecutor attached to a court in Margao, while speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted on stringent checks and controls by the police.
“It is certainly unfortunate that the minor boys could have driven a distance of about 40 kms without being caught or stopped by the police. There is an urgent need for the police to be more vigilant, else the situation will turn from bad to worse in no time.”
Dr Sanjay P Sawant Dessai, principal of CES College of Arts and Science at Cuncolim, felt that the tragic road mishap should be a lesson for parents and law enforcement agencies to work together and take steps to prevent such tragedies in future.
“Parents need to responsible by not handing over keys of vehicles to minors, besides closely monitoring the behaviour of their minor children. Police and RTO also need to be strict in preventing vehicles with tinted glasses and should stop minors from driving vehicles. There should be a concerted effort and a plan of action by all stakeholders at the state level stop such incidents in future and to safeguard the safety of road users and minor children,” said Dr Dessai.
Adv. Amar Naik from Kalay-Sanguem voiced concern over a general neglect of children and lack of parental responsibilities in today’s world.
“Due to parental neglect, a number of minors are involved in drugs and other illegal activities like rash and negligent driving, which not only risks their lives but also poses a threat to others. Some parents have lot of money to splurge and they don’t know how to utilise it responsibly and as a result, many minors are openly seen roaming with vehicles,” said Adv Naik.
“If anything goes wrong, parents are quick to blame teachers and other authorities. I appeal to all parents not to hand over vehicles to their minor children and to avoid giving them extra cash,” he added.
