Buying Your Kid a Motorbike for Passing O/Ls — Gift or Gamble With Their Life?

Police said this month that a growing number of parents are rewarding children who pass their O/L or A/L exams with a brand-new motorcycle, then letting them ride it on public roads before they're old enough for a licence. Sri Lanka has already recorded 785 motorcyclist deaths this year, and police have directly asked parents to stop, pointing out that letting a minor ride is itself an offence, not just risky. One side says this is just how things work outside Colombo: a motorbike is often the cheapest way for a teenager to get to tuition or a part-time job, kids have ridden pillion and solo for generations, and nothing happened to most of them. The other side says no licence means no training, no hazard sense and no insurance cover if something goes wrong, and it's the parent signing up for that guilt, not the traffic police standing at the junction. Did you get a bike as an exam reward, or give one to your own child? At what age did you actually let them ride alone, licence or not? ළමයාට විභාග ත්‍යාගයක් විදියට බයික් එකක් දීම හොඳද, එහෙම දුන්නොත් තනියම පදින්න දෙන්න ඕන කොයි වයසේද?