In the first of a series of articles promoting road safety in his country, the Automobile Association of Upper India (AAUI)’s President looks at the responsibility of parents in shaping their children’s responsible behaviour when it comes to road safety.

“Many surveys have revealed that 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age group”, explains Mr Malhotra, who accepted to have a regular column in the magazine devoted to the promotion of road safety.

“Parents have an important role to play to make sure that their teens do not drive, unless they are of the eligible age and have undergone proper training from a recognised driving school”, Mr Malhotra continues.

“With 16 and 17-year 'young' drivers, the fatality rate with each additional passenger in the car is likely to increase. Cross sectional surveys conducted among 301 boys from 8 schools in Kerala, using multistage random sampling, revealed that 81.4% of students below 18 years of age occasionally engage in driving - and 30% drive frequently”.

Concluding the article, Mr Malhotra advises parents to be strict but fair in encouraging responsible behaviour, observing that parent-child relationships based on trust and mutual understanding can save lives.