Doha: Colonel Jaber Mohamed Rashid Odaiba, Assistant Director of the Media and Traffic Awareness Department, said that the Department never reconciles with violation of driving without a licence for children under 18 and the violators will be referred to the public prosecution.

Driving without a license for those under 18 is one of the irregularities in which the violators cannot avail reconciliation and the children’s parents can also be investigated as in some cases they are responsible for giving vehicles to their children, the official said.

Speaking to The Peninsula, Colonel Odaiba pointed out that Major General Mohamed Saad Al Kharji, the Director-General of the Traffic Department, had recently stated that there are many vehicles which are registered under children’s names putting a big question on the phenomenon.

Some parents are allowing their children to drive in the small streets and in short distances claiming that there is no traffic density in these areas, which puts lives of residents and road users in the danger.

Commenting on this practice, Colonel Odaiba said that regarding the responsibility of the parents, there are some parents that allow their children to drive without a license, and even buy vehicles and register them in their children names.

On the other hand, he said there are some parents who do not allow their kids but their children take the vehicles without their knowledge or consent. “In both cases, the police investigates the matter and takes the necessary measures,” he stressed.

To a question about the mechanism of stopping such violators on the roads, he said, “Because some children are afraid of the police and can escape in speed, therefore, the patrols do not follow them in the streets but only notes the vehicle number to arrest them latter because immediate response from the police may put children’s life and the lives of others in danger,” he said.

The Traffic Awareness Department educates schools and has a partnership with schools to create an awareness about this violation.