Man Fined For Teaching A 13YO Boy To Drive In Johor

Investigations revealed that the man wanted to teach the teen boy how to drive the car and let the boy take over the wheel.

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A local man was issued a summons and is being investigated for allowing a 13-year-old boy to drive a car near a playground in Taman Daya, Johor Bahru.

The incident was made known after a photo of the man with the boy in the driver’s seat was uploaded to the JB Tracer II group on Facebook last week.

Johor Bahru Selatan district police chief Raub Selamat confirmed the incident took place on Sunday, 18 February, around 5.30pm.

Investigations revealed that the 25-year-old man wanted to teach the teen how to drive and let the boy take the wheel. The man is the son of the boy’s babysitter.

The case is being investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for neglect and exposing the child to physical injury. Upon conviction, the accused could face fines up to RM50,000 or imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.

The man was also issued a summons under Section 39(5) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for allowing a minor to drive.

Underage driving is not safe. For illustration purposes. Image: TRP File

Why minors shouldn’t be driving?

There’s more to driving other than controlling the steering wheel and the pedals. Ideally, the person behind the wheel should be able to drive calmly under pressure because anything can happen on the road.

When it comes to minors, their brain is still not mature enough to handle situations when things go wrong. They might eventually make driving mistakes and fail to control the vehicle, causing preventable accidents.

Driving underage does not only harm the minors but also the people around them.

In May 2022, former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said allowing underage driving would also cause further problems. This is because minors are not covered under insurance since they do not process a driver’s license.