Call for graduated driver licensing to prevent accidents involving new and teenaged drivers

Sunday’s (October 11) accident in which an overspeeding luxury car driven by a 19-year-old who was reportedly under the influence of liquor rammed a two-wheeler from behind on airport road in Kochi, killing all three young riders, yet again sheds light on the need for a graduated driver licensing (GDL) system, according to Motor Vehicle department (MVD) officials and road-safety experts.

This system, which is the norm in many countries, would help them gain experience and build safety skills over time before getting the driving licence. Especially so since approximately 70% of road accidents during a person’s lifetime are likely to occur within the first three years of obtaining a driving licence, said Sibi Mathai, who conducted research in driver behavioural psychology.

“Hefty fines should be imposed on such drivers for violating road safety norms during this three-year time span. This will enable them — especially teenagers and young drivers — to graduate in a phased manner to drive bigger and more powerful vehicles,” he added.

Apart from this, driving under the influence of liquor must be treated as a criminal offence, attracting suspension of the driving licence for a minimum of six months and a mandatory negative marking on the licence. Such drivers must, in addition, be made to attend road safety awareness classes. On their part, the cyber police must keep track of those who post reels and videos of vehicles that are being driven above the speed limit set for different road corridors and register cases to hold them accountable, Mr. Mathai said.

Echoing a similar view, a senior MVD official sought harsher punishment for those exceeding the speed limit as a deterrent measure. “In addition, an impartial post-accident probe must be launched to identify the faulty driver and whether anything else contributed to the accident,” he added.

Citing Section 135 of the Motor Vehicles Act, which empowers the Centre and the State to frame road safety schemes depending on the needs of each region, Bijulal Ram, a former motor vehicle inspector, said the Section further empowers the State to carry out in-depth studies on the reasons that contributed to road accidents.

“In the context of Sunday’s fatal accident on airport road, the government can thus launch a probe into how the 19-year-old car driver escaped being booked for overspeeding on this and other road corridors [of which he reportedly posted videos online] in the recent past. On their part, the police must stop adhering to the template that is most often followed in the wake of accidents and must instead strive to identify who and what led to the accident,” he added.