Too many scooters and electric vehicles out at night, driven by kids under 14. A situation that has become increasingly serious, exacerbated by the warm weather and school closures.

And so Antonino De Lorenzo, mayor of Praia a Mare, a tourist destination on the Tyrrhenian coast near Cosenza, took pen to paper and signed an ordinance imposing a curfew on unaccompanied children under 14 until the end of September. Children must return home by 12:30 a.m. and may not leave until 7:00 a.m. the following morning. Violators face heavy fines: €100 for unaccompanied minors and €250 for responsible caregivers who fail to supervise the actions of minors under their care.

Minors participating in events or activities authorized by the municipal administration, such as shows, cultural, sporting, or educational events, are exempt from the ban, "provided they are duly accompanied by authorized personnel or a responsible adult to ensure their supervision." The issue of scooters, as stated on the municipal website in the comments to the ordinance, is "an increasingly pressing issue."

And the case cited is a nighttime checkpoint carried out by the municipal police between Friday the 18th and Sunday the 20th, "which led to the seizure of several electric vehicles, many of which were being ridden by children under the age of 14." But the measure isn't just justified by scooters. The mayor's ordinance, in fact, is based on the premise that nighttime outings "expose minors to risks to their physical and psychological safety."

Furthermore, De Lorenzo writes in his document, "at night, they are not only vulnerable to road accidents and possible physical attacks, but are also more exposed to vandalism, drug and alcohol use, risks associated with juvenile crime, and, more generally, deviant behavior that undermines public safety." Therefore, acknowledging that "establishing a ban on unaccompanied driving is motivated by the awareness that nighttime represents a context of greater risk, both physical and psychological, for minors" and that the adoption of preventive measures "is a necessary tool to reduce the risk of dangerous situations and to promote greater social responsibility on the part of families, guardians, and the community," the mayor decided to issue the ordinance.

(Unioneonline)

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