PUTRAJAYA: Action can be taken against both the teenage driver and vehicle owner for causing the death of a grass cutter and injuring another, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
He said in the case of injuries, the responsible party will face serious consequences for allowing an underage with no licence to drive.
“According to the Road Transport Act, in the case of those who allow their underage children to drive without a licence, not only the driver will be held responsible but the owner of the vehicle as well. This is negligence,’’ he said yesterday.
He was commenting on the case where a grass cutter was killed while his colleague was seriously injured after they were hit by a multi-purpose vehicle driven by a 16-year-old student in Sungai Petani, Kedah, on Saturday.
The teenager does not have a driver’s licence.
Dr Wee said without a licence, the teenager should not be driving and there is no insurance coverage.
‘’This is to take care of the safety of other road users,’’ he said.
He said similarly, when it comes to certain micro mobility vehicles that had been banned from the roads, some people had questioned why.
Citing a Chinese daily report on the rampant use of the electric scooter which highlighted a video of a group of reckless riders on the road intimidating car drivers and endangering road users, he said this becomes an issue when such vehicles are allowed on the road.
‘’We need to consider all road users. What’s important is to abide by the rules,’’ he said.
‘’But they shouldn’t be allowed on the road just like that. Who will be held responsible? In the end, the government will end up being blamed.”