Chairman's Foreword

I am pleased to become the Chairman of the Road Safety Council (the Council) in August this year and have the honour to present the Council’s annual report for the year of 2012.

With the objective of reducing traffic accidents and casualties, the Council pursued four road safety priorities, namely “Anti-Drug Driving”, “Anti-Drink Driving”, “Cycling Safety” and “Elderly Pedestrian Safety”, in the year of 2012.

Anti-Drug Driving

The Road Traffic (Amendment) Ordinance 2011 was passed on 15 March 2012 to combat drug driving. To reinforce the message, the Council launched a series of education and publicity campaigns to enhance public awareness. Large banners with the slogan of “Drug Driving – may be your journey to death” are now displayed on major traffic routes and different media platforms.

Anti-Drink Driving

The Council’s commitment to reducing drink driving remained unwavering. Not only had we reviewed the contents of promotion banners and public interest announcements, we had also employed the use of social media to strengthen the message of “If you drink, don’t drive” and convey the grave consequences of drink driving. Last Christmas, members of the Council also joined the night-time campaign at Lan Kwai Fong to remind revellers not to drive after drinking.

Cycling Safety

In July and September 2012, the Council launched the “Wise Ride Safe Cycling Promotion Campaign” and “Safe Cycling Campaign Kick Off Ceremony” respectively. These initiatives, together with the brand-new public interest announcement featuring Ms Sarah LEE Wai-sze, the Olympic bronze medalist cum National gold medalist, had successfully raised public awareness about safe cycling.

Elderly Pedestrian Safety

Elderly pedestrian safety has always been one of our prime concerns. In 2012 the Council intensified its cooperation with District Councils through the territory-wide publicity campaign of “Elderly Pedestrian Safety Bus Parades” to remind the elderly to “Love yourself, Love your family, Be a smart pedestrian”. The Council also joined with the Radio Television Hong Kong to broadcast a series of radio dramas to promote pedestrian safety.

Achievements

The Council was encouraged to note further reduction in fatal road traffic accidents in 2012, the second lowest total since 1955. Traffic accidents involving drink driving remained low, declining from 680 cases in 2008 to 227 cases in 2012. Elderly pedestrian fatalities also recorded a drop from 60 in 2008 to 47 in 2012.

Looking Ahead

Notwithstanding the achievements made in 2012, there are still many heartbreaking accounts of lives lost and futures destroyed in the blink of an eye. The Council will spare no effort in reducing road traffic accidents and casualties but road safety begins with all of us to act and do what we can. Making our roads safer is everybody’s business.

The year of 2013 marks the Council’s 40th anniversary. Looking ahead, the Council will continue to disseminate the key messages of “Anti-Drug Driving”, “Anti-Drink Driving”, “Cycling Safety” and “Elderly Pedestrian Safety” by reaching to the wider community through a multi-agency and community-based approach. We will collaborate with our road safety partners, including the 18 District Councils, the Hong Kong Road Safety Association and the Hong Kong Automobile Association etc. to achieve our ultimate goal – “Zero Accidents on the Road”.

Acknowledgement

Finally, I would like to acknowledge our members and the many organizations that have supported our efforts to promote road safety in 2012. I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to Mr TANG Kam-moon for his invaluable contributions during his tenure as the Chairman of the Council between 2011 and 2013

LO Wai-chung, Stephen
Chairman
Road Safety Council