Just My Two Cents....

You know, it REALLY makes me sick to read about road accidents involving minors who are allowed to handle vehicles that are waaayyy beyond their control.

If I'm not wrong, last month I read about 2 school girls, best friends, who died together after being involved in an accident while riding a motorcycle. This morning, again a similar incident, only this time involving school boys, also best friends.

While the story definitely comes across as a tear-jerker, one very important point to note -- The girls were about 14 - 15 yrs and the boys were 10 - 11 yrs.

Is that an acceptable age for kids, YES...KIDS, to be handling motor vehicles?

There are voices saying "alaaaa... dalam kampung aje"

Well, I do believe even the most remote kampung had ROADS in it, and roads = traffic involving cars/vans/lorries.

Kampungs also have ditches and drains, potholes and bumps...need I say more?

In both the articles that mentioned the cases above, it seemed that the riders "lost control of their motorcyle and crashed into a nearby tree".

It seems like a silly incident that should not have happened in the first place, right?

I don't know if I'm being too judgemental but I believe that the authorities should start looking into charging these minors' parents for negligence. I believe there are many countries that have similar existing laws.

It is sad to read a comment from a parent who merely accepts the death of his child and citing it as "fate", when accidents like these are so preventable. To blame it on fate alone is irresponsible.

Children, until they reach the age of 18 (or 21), is under the full care and responsibility of their parents, and for parents to allow their children to operate vehicles, even in remote roads, is strictly a NO-NO.

I live in Puchong, definitely NOT your average description of a kampung, and yet I see young boys riding motorcycles. It's bad enough that they're not even the legal age to ride one, they are doing so WITH NO HELMETS!

Where I live, the area is still under heavy contruction -- road-building and housing areas -- so you can imagine how scary it is if something goes wrong and one of those large sand-transporting lorries 'meet' with one of those unfortunate boys.

I think there should be real consideration to start charging these parents who probably couldn't be bothered to run a simple errand at the local grocers and entice their children with a permission to ride the motorcycle by carrying out the errand for them!

These parents are encouraging their children to flaunt the law, and it is high time that the law slaps them right back in the face!




AM