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The Council has an increasingly important role to educate the public about road safety. It performs this duty by identifying focal points, initiating curriculum-based programmes and course tools as well as co-ordinating the work of other groups interested in, or responsible for, road safety.
This multi-agency approach is particularly effective in wide-ranging community education initiatives across all age groups. The concerted efforts of District Councils, schools, community centres and non-governmental organisations produce a variety of road safety education. Lectures and seminars are given by the Police to various groups and organisations at venues including the Road Safety Bus, Road Safety Towns, schools, centres for the elderly and other community venues. The messages delivered are tailored to specific groups and audiences. For example, road safety educational programmes designed for new immigrants to Hong Kong help them better understand local regulations and requirements.
In addition, Road Safety Bulletins prepared by the Transport Department are regularly distributed to stakeholders to enhance understanding of traffic regulations and the importance of obeying traffic rules; to disseminate road safety messages; and to enhance the road safety awareness of all road users.
The Road Safety Towns are owned and managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department while lectures on road safety are delivered by Police Road Safety Teams. The towns transform road safety education into a fun experience for children and other young people, in a pleasant and comfortable environment. The towns attracted more than 39,000 visitors of all ages in 2014. They are popular destinations for kindergartens and primary schools, as well as clubs, social service groups and elderly service organisations. Open days with interactive games and performances are regularly held to promote road safety themes.
Pak Fuk Road Safety Town
Pak Fuk Road, North Point
Enquiries: 2565 5716
Sau Mau Ping Road Safety Town
56 Sau Ming Road, Sau Mau Ping
Enquiries: 2379 1194
Sha Tin Road Safety Park
1 Kong Pui Street, Sha Tin
Enquiries: 2637 6303
Tuen Mun Road Safety Town
Wu Shan Recreation Playground, Tuen Mun
Enquiries: 2463 7597
For many years, the Road Safety Bus has delivered road safety messages to students at schools, residents at housing estates and children at youth centres. The Road Safety Bus received more than 11,000 visitors in 2014, underscoring the valuable role it plays in road safety education. The current Road Safety Bus has served the public for more than 10 years and is projected to be replaced in 2017. In addition to raising road safety awareness and developing good practice, we continue to reach out to young people through interactive educational activities.
A holistic school curriculum comprising knowledge, skills and attitude is provided for students in accordance with their developmental needs. Positive values and attitudes that the school curriculum stresses – such as responsibility, respect and care for oneself and others, civic awareness and being law-abiding – are indispensable personal qualities for students to be responsible and considerate road users.
From pre-school education, children learn how to protect themselves and cultivate basic safety habits and awareness. Elements of road safety education, such as understanding and complying with safety regulations, cycling safety, proper use of public transport and common causes of traffic accidents, are covered in various Key Learning Areas and subjects in primary and secondary education. These include General Studies at the primary level and Personal, Social and Humanities Education at the secondary level, along with Physical Education and Moral and Civic Education at both primary and secondary levels.
To promote road safety education, schools may utilise learning and teaching materials, including educational television programmes, lesson plan exemplars and web-based resources provided by the Council. In addition, corresponding life-wide learning activities such as the Hong Kong Road Safety Patrol and Safe Cycling Training Programme are organised for students to develop a broader sense of road safety and strengthen their awareness and habits. In this way, students develop consistently appropriate attitudes towards road use and have their safety awareness heightened during learning in a variety of topics.
We attach great importance to cycling safety. In recent years, the Council, the Police and Transport Department have been promoting cycling safety through a variety of publicity and educational activities. In view of the increasing popularity of cycling in Hong Kong, we are boosting our efforts in this area. Major recent undertakings have included:
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Broadcasting the educational video ‘Safe Cycling: Rules and Tips’ at public venues and sports institutes for viewing by the general public, including motorists, pedestrians and students, to further promote proper and safe road user behaviour concerning cycling. The video is also available on YouTube and at the websites of the Transport Department and the Council. DVDs of the video have been distributed to all local schools and higher education institutions. |
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Promoting the concept of sharing roads by bicycles and motor vehicles, as well as enhancing cyclists’ awareness of safe and proper riding behaviour on roads and compliance with traffic regulations through a TV API, ‘When Cycling, Put Safety First’, featuring celebrated cyclist Ms Sarah Lee Wai-sze. The API aims to disseminate safety messages to all road users that bicycles and motor vehicles have an equal right to use the road and thus motorists and cyclists should respect each other, among other tips for a safe cycling environment. A leaflet about this TV API was produced and distributed to the public. |
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Conducting a ‘Safe Cycling Campaign’ in autumn and winter. Leaflets and souvenirs were distributed at cycling hotspots to enhance public awareness of cycling safety. For example, the Council, District Councils, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Road Safety Patrol jointly held the opening ceremony of ‘2014 Outlying Islands Safe Cycling Campaign’ on Cheung Chau and ‘2014 Lantau Safe Cycling Carnival Ceremony’ in Tung Chung. Leaflets and souvenirs were distributed along cycle tracks to disseminate safe-cycling messages. |
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Delivering regular talks in schools and communities to promote the use of safety equipment, and conducting an intensive cycling training programme to promote safe cycling among primary and secondary school students. |
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Giving talks on cycling safety to students and organisations, visiting the four Road Safety Towns and providing practice sessions. |
The ‘Driver Improvement Scheme’, introduced by Transport Department in 2002, continues to provide courses for drivers wishing to improve their driving behaviour, for drivers who have accumulated 10 or more driving-offence points (DOPs) for offences committed during a two-year period, and for those otherwise ordered to attend by a court due to conviction of a serious traffic offence. Once all sessions and the course-end assessment are successfully completed, drivers will receive a certificate and, when relevant, have their DOP reduced by three. Since the implementation of the Driving Improvement Scheme in September 2002 and up to December 2014, over 123,000 drivers have attended the course. Encouragingly, over 90% of the participants successfully completed the course-end assessment with satisfactory results.
A Road Safety Bulletin, namely ‘Driving Through Junctions – Safety First’ was published to disseminate information about the statutory requirement for drivers at priority junctions, traffic light controlled junctions, and on roundabouts. The bulletin has been distributed to district offices, driving schools, and public libraries and through other publicity channels.
In Hong Kong, elderly pedestrians remain vulnerable to road accidents. The Council continued to focus many of its seminars, campaigns, bus parades, road safety messages and publicity and educational programmes on this demographic group, emphasising proper road use and crossing technique. In particular, we continue to broadcast the television API reminding the elderly to ‘Love Yourself, Love Your Family, Be a Smart Pedestrian’. The Council also worked closely with District Councils to conduct education in areas with a higher occurrence of traffic accidents involving elderly pedestrians to remind the elderly to use proper road crossing facilities.
A road safety competition programme was broadcast on RTHK Radio 5 and at the Road Safety Council 41st Anniversary Ceremony cum Elderly Road Safety Campaign 2014 held on 22 November 2014, at the Discovery Park Sky Dome Atrium. Senior Police Call (SPC) joined as guest competitors to compete against the champion team. The campaign attracted much attention from the elderly in 2014. The Council will continue to make use of the RTHK Radio 5 channel to promulgate safety messages to the elderly in 2015.
A Road Safety Bulletin ‘Be a Bright Pedestrian’ has been produced to remind pedestrians to cross roads safely and be attentive when using pedestrian crossing facilities.
For further information, please visit:
www.td.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_182/rs_bulletin_35.pdf
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Publicity |
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Road Safety Measures |
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