Pune Police Target Underage Drivers, 25 Minors Apprehended, Parents Hit with Hefty Fines
Pune Police Target Underage Drivers, 25 Minors Apprehended, Parents Hit with Hefty Fines
Pune’s traffic police are cracking down on underage drivers, a move spurred by the high-profile Porsche accident in Kalyani Nagar last year. The incident, which sparked public outrage, has led to a renewed focus on enforcing driving laws and ensuring road safety.
In the first two months of 2025 alone, police apprehended 25 underage drivers, imposing fines totaling ₹1.25 lakh. This intensified effort builds on a campaign launched in 2024, which resulted in 73 cases and ₹3.50 lakh collected in penalties from parents who allowed their minor children to drive.
The echoes of that fateful May night in 2024 still reverberate through the streets of Pune. A teenage son of a prominent city builder, who was behind the wheel of a Porsche Taycan, was involved in a fatal crash. The accident, which occurred around 2 a.m. after a night out at pubs in Mundhwa, claimed the lives of two young IT professionals, leaving the city reeling in shock and grief.
Public outcry was swift and fierce, prompting authorities to launch a stringent drive against underage driving. But, as time passed, enforcement efforts gradually declined. Now, a year later, the memory of that tragic accident has sparked a renewed determination to address the issue head-on, ensuring that such a tragedy never happens again.
Addressing the issue, Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil remarked, “The initiative launched last year had lost its momentum, resulting in a decline in the number of cases being filed. However, we have now made the decision to enforce the e-filing of cases against the parents of minor drivers, ensuring that legal action is pursued directly through the court.”
With the start of the next academic year, the police are gearing up to intensify their crackdown on underage driving. They’re not just targeting the young drivers themselves, but also holding their parents accountable. This initiative aims to send a clear message that underage driving will not be tolerated and that everyone has a responsibility to prevent such dangerous situations.
On Friday, a case was filed in Ambegaon against a motorcycle owner who allowed a 16-year-old to ride his bike while drunk. Authorities have noticed that minors usually drive or ride mainly on internal roads and smaller lanes instead of main roads. Patil pointed out, “Many parents let their minor children drive vehicles when going to school or college, even though they don’t have a valid driving license. Our teams will carefully monitor routes leading to educational institutions, and traffic patrol teams will closely watch for underage drivers.”
The Porsche accident wasn’t an isolated incident. Throughout the past year, Pune has witnessed a disturbing trend of minors behind the wheel, with accidents reported in areas like Katraj, Kondhwa, Wanowrie, and Uttam Nagar. To combat this growing problem, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Pune launched a campaign to deter underage driving, reminding the public that parents or vehicle owners of minors caught driving could face hefty penalties, including fines of up to ₹25,000 and imprisonment for up to three years.
