Trucks aren't toys

March 20, 2018 - 09:00

People on the streets of Sầm Sơn City in northern Thanh Hóa Province watched in disbelief when they saw a boy, no older than 7 or 8 years old, behind the wheel of a truck going down one of the city’s busy streets last weekend.

People on the streets of Sầm Sơn City in northern Thanh Hóa Province watched in disbelief when they saw a boy, no older than 7 or 8 years old, behind the wheel of a truck going down one of the city’s busy streets last weekend.

But the boy wasn’t alone, as a man, later identified to be his uncle, was in the car with him. As people panicked and yelled at him to take the boy off the wheel, he was quoted as saying people should just relax and that he was trying to teach the boy how to drive.

The police, and apparently the National Traffic Safety Committee, did not find the incident amusing. The uncle was summoned by the police to answer for his reckless act. He later confessed that he thought it would be fun to teach the boy how to drive with his truck.

Unless he has been living under a rock he would know that there are dozens of thousands of traffic accidents every year in Việt Nam, which kill and maim many drivers and pedestrians. Perhaps little boys should be taught traffic safety laws instead of being told that it’s ok for them to drive a truck.

The man ended up paying a hefty fine and was required to put down in writing that he will not make the same mistake in the future. We understand that he may be trying to be the cool uncle that lets his nephew do whatever he wants, but maybe he should stick with ice cream and video games instead of giving his boy the keys to his truck. It was a miracle that nobody got hurt. — VNS

 

 

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