Looking Ahead

The Road Safety Council actively assists the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in pursuit of the goal of “Zero Accidents on the Road”. As Hong Kong’s population density rises and given the significant developments in our society, continual increase in traffic volumes are expected on our roads. The Council will continue to enhance road safety through education and publicity to make our roads and community safer. In addition, the Council has suggested “Driving Attentively” as the fifth road safety theme in 2014 because “Driving Inattentively” has been the top driver contributory factor of traffic accidents over the past three years.

Spreading the Safety Message

Following the enactment of legislative amendments to combat drug driving in 2012, the Council stepped up publicity to alert drivers to the possible effects of some common drugs on driving ability and advise them to stop driving when initial signs of driving impairment are recognised. Television and radio APIs will continue to be broadcast. Posters are displayed and leaflets are distributed at various locations including car parks, tunnels and government public counters, such as at District Offices and Transport Department licensing offices.

The Transport Department will continue to broadcast an educational video featuring key safety messages and illustrating proper cycling techniques on roads and cycle tracks. The Council’s website, revamped in 2012, will be maintained with the latest news on safe driving and road safety, traffic statistics and other pertinent information. This Annual Report, which details our activities throughout the year, will continue to be published along with a series of road safety bulletins focused on specific road safety themes. The Transport Department will assist in the distribution of these bulletins.

A new television announcement and a publicity campaign will be produced to promote and launch the new theme of “Driving Attentively”. A number of scenarios showing the dangers of distractions and poor road practices by road users (e.g. using smartphones while driving or crossing a road) will be included to enhance the safety awareness of drivers and other road users. Radio announcements with the same theme will also be made.

Educating Target Groups

The Transport Department disseminates road safety messages to professional drivers through newsletters, seminars, workshops and regular meetings held with the public transport trades. A safe driving and health campaign will be held to enhance the safe driving skills and health awareness of commercial vehicle drivers. Three public road safety bulletins on specific road safety subjects will also be produced. In addition, the Police will continue to conduct seminars and on-street education at traffic accident black spots and boundary control points to reach target groups and raise their awareness.

Recognising that road safety education should begin at an early age, we work closely with the Hong Kong Road Safety Association and have developed various publicity materials for training courses and lectures on cycling safety for youngsters in the community in order to raise interest in and awareness of road safety among students.

Training courses and lectures on cycling safety and skills are also part of our community youth awareness programme in primary and secondary schools.

The Education Bureau will continue to use the school curriculum to convey road safety messages and to cultivate responsibility and civic awareness among students. Educational television programmes and teaching materials focusing on proper road user attitudes and behaviour will also support road safety education in schools. As statistics suggest that the elderly are most vulnerable to traffic accidents, service units of the Social Welfare Department and non-governmental 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 disseminate road safety messages.