The state and its organs can only do so much to prevent underage driving. Countless awareness campaigns and subsequent crackdowns in the past failed to bring about any meaningful change because those primarily responsible, such as parents and guardians, dropped the ball. It would be unwise to treat the Shahdara Town incident as another accident involving a rashly driven luxury vehicle running over commuters. It is a rather classic example of the dangers of inexperienced driving. Numerous factors might have been at play that led to this tragedy, but the undeniable fact remains that the person behind the wheel was not of age.

Unlike Karachi’s Karsaz incident of 2024 that resulted in the death of an elderly motorcyclist and his daughter or Islamabad’s G‑11 crash of 2022 involving the son of a politician that left four youngsters dead, the latest tragedy is a simple case of a joyride gone wrong, ending the life of a young man.

It involves a 14-year-old minor residing with his maternal grandmother in an upper-floor rental. He picked up the keys of a luxury vehicle belonging to the property owner and drove it away as if it were a video game. With no apparent training and no obvious sense of consequence, the child drove the vehicle at more than 120km/hour on a narrow road in the congested area. He rammed the vehicle into three moving motorcycles before crashing into nearly half a dozen motorcyclists parked outside a shop. However, placing blame without looking at the whole picture would be as rash as the boy’s driving.

In some cases, children have their parents in the passenger seat or as pillion riders, while others are out running errands or earning some extra bucks for the family. The idea is to turn boys into “men” by letting them handle something beyond their control

The way underage driving has established itself as a norm across the country is alarming. Teen drivers weaving through traffic in their cars, motorcycles, and Qingqi rickshaws have become common. The practice is unacceptable in civilized societies because people there are well aware of the consequences.

Underage driving is not just a parenting failure but a societal disease people have chosen to ignore. The consent given to this crime is disturbing. In some cases, children have their parents in the passenger seat or as pillion riders, while others are out running errands or earning some extra bucks for the family. The idea is to turn boys into “men” by letting them handle something beyond their control. On the other hand, there are a few ‘daredevils’ as well who want to show off on the roads, just to seek the attention of society that sadly equates masculinity with risk-taking.

However, sometimes societal neglect and abandonment corrupt young minds, forcing them to perform such irrational and irresponsible actions. Despite the fact that the teenager involved in the latest accident comes from a broken family and was abandoned by both his parents, there are dots in the picture that need connecting. He was looking for a joyride for sure, but it is unclear why no one acted, even in the parking area.

The Punjab Police inspector general ordering a fresh campaign against underage driving is a welcome step. However, while the law takes its course to curb this dangerous practice, greater responsibility lies with society. People must not ignore the fact that children are not physically or emotionally capable of handling the responsibility of a moving vehicle. Their reaction time is slower, judgment immature, and sense of consequences almost zero. In most cases, it is not them driving the vehicle but the vehicle driving them... driving them crazy. Road safety cannot be ensured when children are allowed to take the wheel. Unless society collectively puts its foot down, the next siren we hear could be for someone we know.