Emphasis

The Road Safety Council places great emphasis and importance on the public's awareness of road safety.  This is achieved through a variety of educational channels targeting a broad cross section of the population.

Road Safety Town

Located throughout Hong Kong, Road Safety Towns (RSTs) facilitate the education and importance of road safety in a fun and engaging atmosphere.  2007 saw their continued popularity, receiving 58,981 visitors of all ages.  Besides being a favourite destination for kindergarteners and primary school children, RSTs are also becoming a popular choice with clubs, social groups, and elderly associations.

Open Days were organised throughout 2007, and offered a fun day out hosting special events to appeal to a wider audience and further promote the importance of road safety.

Hong Kong's four Road Safety Towns can be found in the following locations:

1. Pak Fuk Road Safety Town
    Pak Fuk Road, North Point
    Enquiries: 2565 5716

2.Sau Mau Ping Road Safety Town
    56 Sau Ming Road, Sau Mau Ping
    Enquiries: 2379 1194

3.Sha Tin Road Safety Park
    1 Kong Pui Street, Sha Tin
    Enquiries: 2637 6303

4.Tuen Mun Road Safety Town
    Wu Shan Recreation Playground, Tuen Mun
    Enquiries: 2463 7597

Road Safety Bus

For over 35 years, the Road Safety Bus has been offering an inspirational learning environment for children.  Vibrant colours and a simulated road environment offers a high-tech resource to educate students, residents of housing estates and children in youth centres.  The bus was visited by 61,171 people in 2007, proving that it has a valuable role to play in road safety education and awareness.

Target Groups

The Road Safety Council takes great care in tailoring educational programmes. The use of focus groups help identify people most affected by road safety issues. For instance, vulnerable parties include kindergarteners, primary and secondary students, as well as the elderly; road users are also sub-divided into drivers, professional drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and tourists.  A targeted approach to our community helps the Council to be better equipped and realise its goal of zero accidents on the road.

Youth and Students

Proficiency Badge Scheme for Youth

In the five years since the Road Safety Council announced a new initiative to boost road safety awareness amongst children, the Proficiency Badge Scheme for Youth has demonstrated a far-reaching ability to teach and inspire young people through interactive educational activities.

In 2007, the scheme continued to gain support from children and adult volunteers alike, with 2,128 children participating in 90 classes.  In collaboration with the Road Safety Association, 157 participants were involved in seven training courses for facilitators.

Schools

A cornerstone of the Council's educational work is to reach students with messages about road safety.  This is achieved through a diverse array of activities and programmes, as well as through different key learning areas/subjects in school curricula (e.g. General Studies at primary level, Personal Social and Humanities Key Learning Area, Physical Education Key Learning Area at secondary level).  Through these efforts, children gain a positive attitude to road safety and acquire important knowledge, including subjects such as safety regulations, the proper use of public transport and the causes of common traffic incidents.

Curriculum reform is helping to reinforce these initiatives with more emphasis placed on students developing a positive set of values and attitudes providing a strong foundation for safe driving and hopefully encouraging future generations to make road safety a lifelong habit.

Lectures and Seminars

Interesting and engaging lectures and seminars can play an important role in educational programmes for all ages, whether at schools, centres for the elderly or community venues.

Focusing relevant information towards specific groups proved to be an efficient and effective mean to impart important information.  In 2007, the Council continued to organise education programmes for new immigrants to Hong Kong, to help them understand better the local regulations and requirements.

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Teaching Aids

To help promote road safety education and impart positive attitudes in their students, teachers are given materials, such as educational television programmes, by the Education Bureau.  Teachers are also supported with teaching plans designed to enhance students' understanding of traffic regulations and the vital importance of obeying road rules.

Drivers

Driver Improvement Scheme

The Driver Improvement Scheme has been helping to promote road safety in Hong Kong since 2002.  It enables drivers to take a driving improvement course to improve attitude and behaviour on the road.  This is a voluntary scheme for drivers wishing to improve their on-road attitude, although for some drivers, such as those who have incurred five or more driving offence points, can be ordered by the court to attend this course.

Upon successful completion of all sessions and assignments, drivers are issued with a certificate and are even awarded a deduction of three driving offence points from the participant's total number of points.  Road offenders  who have incurred 15 or more points on the date of completion, or successful return-course takers (within 2 years) are not afforded a deduction.

As of December 2007, nearly 13,000 drivers attended the driving improvement course and found it to be a valuable experience.  Encouragingly, 77% of participants did not incur any new driving offence points within six months after completing the course.

The General Public

Our efforts to educate the general public on road safety include the use of mass media and the distribution of leaflets on the streets.  For more information on our educational programmes and initiatives, please visit : http://www.roadsafety.gov.hk/eng/rs_camp/rs_camp.html.