Special drive to curb underage student driving in Odisha from Mar 28

Taking stern note of underage student driving in Odisha, the State Road Transport Authority (STA) is all set to launch a special drive starting Tuesday.

According to sources, the special drive will be carried out in close vicinity of schools from March 28 and continue until April first week.

Strict action will be taken against the violators and the registered owner of the vehicles that are found driven by underage students, sources informed.

Similarly, a hefty fine of Rs 25,000 will be imposed for driving without licence during the special drive.

“Last week we have carried a special crackdown on drunken driving. While 767 cases of drunken driving were reported, cases were registered against several violators. As many as 5,081 people died in road accidents in 2021 in Odisha and the number stood at 5,467 in 2022. In 2021, as many as 132 minor boys and 23 minor girls died in separate road accidents,” informed Lalmohan Sethi, additional commissioner of enforcement of STA. 

“Drunken driving, over-speeding and violating traffic norms are the major reasons for road accident fatalities. A special drive will be launched from tomorrow with the help of police to crackdown on underage driving in school and college areas,” Sethi added.

“The violators will be fined up to Rs 25,000. Besides, the vehicle will be seized and its registration will be cancelled. Most importantly, a case will be lodged against the registered owner of the vehicle. As per the law, the violator can be awarded 3 year jail term,” he added.

(Reported by Goutam Panda, OTV)