| The Way Forward |  |
Looking Ahead
There can only be progress when there is optimism about the future and it is the vision of 'Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong's Goal' that drives the Road Safety Council towards realising its worthwhile objective. The Council will continue this meaningful long-term pursuit and address not only current challenges but also emerging challenges. It will continue to adopt a partnership approach in promoting and enhancing road safety in Hong Kong, and to devise education and publicity campaigns towards realising our vision.
Spreading the Safety Message
The Road Traffic (Amendment) Ordinance 2010 was enacted on 17 December 2010. Publicity plans have been devised and will continue, in particular during long holidays and festive seasons, to bolster public awareness of the enhanced drink driving penalties and the slogan: 'If you drink, don't drive!'.
The Government has proposed a new legislation to combat drug driving and the Council will launch a series of education and publicity campaigns to raise awareness across all segments of society upon the enactment of the new laws.
Elderly pedestrian safety and safe cycling will continue to be the Council's foci, underpinned by partnership programmes with District Councils, elderly centres, schools and other organisations. A territory-wide photo competition will be launched in the summer of 2011 to raise public awareness on elderly pedestrian safety. In addition, a new API on safe cycling will be produced in 2011.
The Council's website, accessible by all members of the public, will continue to be updated with the latest news on safe driving and road safety, traffic statistics and other pertinent information.
This Annual Report, which details our activities in the year, will continue to be published along with a series of road safety bulletins focusing on specific road safety themes. The Transport Department will assist in the distribution of these bulletins.
District Councils' Involvement
The Council is proud of its collaborative efforts with the District Councils. In June 2011, a major event marking the first-ever partnership with all the 18 District Councils to deliver the message of elderly pedestrian safety will be conducted. Police officers, Road Safety Patrol officers and District Councilors will be promoting road safety in the busy streets throughout the territory during the event. This momentum will be maintained.
Educating Target Groups
The Transport Department disseminates road safety messages to professional drivers through seminars and workshops held with the public transport trades. In addition, the Police will continue to conduct seminars as well as on-street education at traffic accidents blacksites and boundary control points to reach and raise awareness of the target audiences and groups.
Young people are one of the key segments within the target audience of the Council's promotion campaigns. Working with the Hong Kong Road Safety Association, the Council will continue its Road Safety Proficiency Badge Scheme to raise interest and awareness of road safety among students. The scheme awards proficiency badges to young people in recognition of their professional road safety knowledge. Training courses and lectures on cycling safety and skills are also part of our community youth awareness programme.
The Education Bureau will continue to use the school curriculum to convey road safety messages, supplemented by television programmes and teaching materials focusing on proper road user attitudes. As statistics suggest that the elderly are the most vulnerable to traffic accidents, service units of the Social Welfare Department and non-government organisations will continue to include road safety as a key message in their community programmes. Bulletins and printed materials will be distributed to the general public to spread the road safety message further.
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Traffic Accidents Statistics |
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Annex |
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