Last week's fatal highway accident involving a teenage driver without a licence must serve as a lesson in responsibility and accountability
The recent horror car crash that left nine people dead is an expensive lesson for us all, but will it really bring an end to the problem of underage driving and irresponsible parenting? While the police said they had to interrogate the surviving driver, who is 16, as well as witnesses, to find out what exactly happened, it is obvious that the young driver was involved in the accident and was probably the cause of it. She was too young and she was driving without a licence.
The driving laws exist for a reason. A minor does not have the necessary maturity to be allowed behind the wheel of a vehicle on any road, never mind a major highway.
Parents are responsible for the actions of their children, up to a certain age. If parents are so negligent as to allow a 16-year-old without a licence to get behind the wheel of a car and cause the deaths of innocent others, then those parents must be severely punished to the full extent of the law.
Unfortunately many parents do let their children drive vehicles, in the full knowledge that it is against the law, and even though the consequences can be fatal, as we've seen. Some of these parents even buy cars for their underage kids. With parents like this, how could a teenager not resist the temptation to get out on the road? Any young person would want to test the speed of a new car on the highway. This is understandable. But any responsible parent would surely not allow them to do so - for the sake of their own child's safety and that of others.
If there is an accident involving a minor driver, the registered owner of the vehicle involved must be held fully accountable, no matter who was driving at the time. The only possible vindication would be for the owner to have reported the car stolen before the time of the accident. While minors can only be subject to cautionary measures, the parents must face the full consequences of their actions in allowing an unlicensed minor to drive.
In some developed countries, the punitive civil and criminal damages imposed on parents of minor drivers who cause fatal accidents can result in bankruptcy. It has been reported in the media that the driver in this case might be subject to only a Bt400 fine for driving without a licence. The public will realise that this no deterrent to similar incidents happening in the future. If this ends up being the sum total of the punishment, it will do nothing to discourage underage driving.
The parents in this case should be subject to severe punitive measures and damages, aside from compensation for the deaths of nine people. They should also be forced to do extensive community service and undergo a stringent re-education course to ensure that they realise the tragic effect of their irresponsibility.
Parents have a responsibility to educate their children about the sanctity of the law, the role of good citizenship, and that they must be accountable for their own actions. Parents are in the best position to prevent their children from doing anything that is illegal. But unfortunately in this case the spotlight has so far been on the teenage daughter and not the parents. What were they thinking in allowing their daughter to drive illegally? Were they even aware that she was doing so? If they were aware, the punishment should perhaps be even harsher.
Without proper punishment and the chance of redemption, these parents and their daughter will fail to understand the rationale behind the legislation on underage driving. Lenient punitive measures will also fail to make others realise the possible tragic consequences of such negligence.
Parents have a moral obligation to raise their children to be good citizens and to abide by the law. It could have happened to anybody, but what we have seen here is likely a case of privileged people thinking that they are above the law. We see this continually in our society in a variety of ways. If an example isn't set, if it isn't demonstrated clearly that nobody is above the law, then we will see many more incidents like this in the future.
