Two Underage Drivers Stopped by Police; One Crashes into Tree

Kosice/Bratislava, 26 December (TASR) – Police in the Kosice region has dealt over the past hours with two "rather unorthodox but quite dangerous incidents", involving minors behind the wheel of motor vehicles, TASR learnt from a police social media post on Friday. According to police, in the first case a 12-year-old underage boy was driving an Audi along road I/16 from the village of Plesivec towards Roznava. His drive ended directly in Roznava, where traffic police on duty stopped him. "In the second case, a 15-year-old underage lad probably wanted to impress an also underage girl and invited her for a ride in a BMW. After noticing a police patrol carrying out a road check between the villages of Jenkovce and Zahor, he likely panicked, veered off the road and crashed into a tree," police said. Neither incident required transport to a hospital and neither had fatal consequences. "In both cases, however, the boys clearly failed to realise that this was not a ride in a virtual game, where after a crash you continue with a repeated life, but driving in real road traffic, where every mistake can cost a real life – not only theirs, but also that of other road users. A minor sitting behind the wheel is not innocent fun, but an extremely dangerous gamble," reads the post. The police also warned parents to take an interest in how their children spend their free time and whether car keys are stored in a safe place or left freely accessible. mf