Road Safety Measures

Revision of Code of Practice for the Lighting, Signing and Guarding of Road Works

Pursuant to the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap 374), the Highways Department (HyD) published in the Gazette on 16 June 2017 the revised Code of Practice for the Lighting, Signing and Guarding of Road Works (the Code). This revised edition is the Fifth Edition of the Code and took effect from 1 January 2018.

The Code emphasises that the person responsible shall strive to avoid putting the worksite in a vulnerable situation and to carry out road works in daytime as far as practicable, with sufficient time window and working space for the setting up, maintenance and removal of lighting, signing and guarding and protection measures before, during and after works execution. These practices can help to minimise the risk of the road works being hit by oncoming or passing vehicles.

The major revisions to the Code include:

(1) For road works on public roads with a speed limit of 70 kilometres per hour (km/h) or above (including expressways), the contractors are required to provide shadow vehicles equipped with truck-mounted attenuator (or temporary safety barriers with an appropriate containment level) and a longitudinal safety clearance zone (buffer zone) in front of the works area;

(2) Extending the application of shadow vehicles equipped with truck-mounted attenuator, flashing arrow signs, flashing beacons and signage when conducting mobile operations (such as setting up and removing a lane closure, emptying a gully, sweeping/watering, or emergency road surface repairs) on expressways to mobile operations on all public roads with a speed limit of 70 km/h or above; and

(3) Upgrading the specification of retroreflectivity on the rear of truck-mounted attenuator on shadow vehicles for better visibility to motorists, and clearly specifying the minimum weight of the shadow vehicle to enhance the protection for workers.