Don’t put your children’s lives on the line

IT’S Hari Raya. A motorcyclist riding along a Felda plantation road loses control of his machine and falls.

Probably because he is not wearing a helmet, he suffers head and body injuries. He is rushed to hospital but dies soon after.

It sounds like just one of those fatality stories coming out of the annual Ops Selamat – but for one thing. The motorcyclist was just 11 years old. And he had no business being on that machine.

Imagine the tragedy for the parents. But the parents are the ones to blame.

Why would any parent allow a child of that age to ride a bike on his own, even it was within a Felda plantation?

The police are hauling up the father, the owner of the bike. And I do hope that he is made to realise that he, in fact, killed his own son with his negligence.

There were others, too. Another boy – just 12 years old – was killed when a taxi hit his motorcycle, also in Johor.

What was he doing riding a motorcycle on a what is essentially a trunk road between Johor Baru and Ayer Hitam, with heavy traffic?

Every day, we hear of young people riding without licences on our roads. In 2014 and 2015, police nabbed 630,000 road users without licences. That’s an average of 830 cases per day!

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For every case nabbed, there are probably a hundred more that go unnoticed.

It’s already been reported that there are some 6.7 million drivers and motorcyclists on Malaysian roads without valid licences.

Of those involved in fatal accidents, more than 20% are aged between 16 and 20 while 35% did not have licences.

The Road Transport Department (JPJ) says many students aged between 13 and 17 are riding motorcycles to schools every day, most of them without a licence.

It, too, has pointed squarely at the parents, who do not seem to understand the dangers involved.

Despite common belief, it is not just happening in the villages and rural areas.

In parts of urban Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, George Town, Ipoh and, of course, Johor Baru, children are brazenly taking to the busy roads on vehicles belonging to the older folk.

I have seen a 12-year-old drive a backhoe and a lorry as the father stood there, beaming proudly at his son’s ability.

It’s about time we started cracking down on these young unlicensed riders and those who would let them hit the streets on their machines.

I am glad that an unemployed 19-year-old Mat Rempit was slapped with a four-day jail term and a RM5,000 fine for his “Superman” stunt on a highway.

The court revoked his licence for two years but given the amount of respect people like these have for the law, I would not be surprised if he were to be back on a bike in a jiffy, even without his licence.

To them, it’s the thrill that matters – a thrill that could easily kill.

Almost every weekend, we get to see such riders, lying prone on their bikes with legs up in the air, speeding down roads with little control over their machines. They endanger themselves and others. And many are very young, at an age when recklessness is considered heroism.

These kids have be stopped, along with their parents, big brothers, or any relative who allows them to use their vehicle.

The laws exist. Under the Road Transport Act, anyone under 16 cannot drive any motor vehicle. A 17-year-old can only get a licence to drive a motorcycle or an invalid carriage on a road.

If anyone is caught breaking this law, the owner of the vehicle can be charged in court and fined up to RM2,000 or jailed for six months.

The police can seize the vehicle, too.

Without a licence, it would be unlawful to allow the rider to continue using the vehicle.

What needs to be done is to have stricter enforcement. With all those street cameras and drone technology, the cops should have it easier now.

We really need to get these kids off the roads – for their own good.

The lives of the children matter, too.

• The writer, who can be reached at [e-mail] believes that parents should be held responsible for the welfare of their children – and that goes for vaccination and immunisation, too. Why wait till 2020 when we can enforce now?