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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (January 17) :
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of complaints about village vehicles received by the relevant authorities over the past two years, the contents of such complaints, and how they were handled;
(b) of the number of traffic accidents involving village vehicles in the past two years;
(c) whether it will consider stepping up regulation on the driving of village vehicles, and drawing up specific measures to improve the driving attitudes and behaviour of the drivers; and
(d) whether it has reviewed the environmental pollution problem caused by village vehicles?
Reply :
Madam President,
In 2005 and 2006, we received five and 10 complaints involving village vehicles respectively. Among them, 10 cases were related to vehicle noise, two cases involved vehicle speed, two cases were about driving attitude and one case was related to contravention of the village vehicle permit condition. Relevant departments followed up these complaints, and depending on the findings of the investigations, took appropriate actions, including issuing warnings or advice, requiring improvement to the vehicle's installations, varying permit conditions to impose restrictions on the use of the vehicle, or cancelling the relevant village vehicle permit.
Regarding the number of traffic accidents, there were seven and nine accidents involving village vehicles in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
The existing Road Traffic (Village Vehicles) Regulations (Cap 374N) have stipulated regulatory requirements on the examination, installations as well as the use of village vehicles. Any person who drives or uses a village vehicle on a road must hold a valid village vehicle permit. Based on the road environment of individual areas, the Transport Department regulates the use of village vehicles through the imposition of permit conditions, which cover the days, time, roads and areas that the vehicle can operate; the size, weight and shape of loads that it can carry; as well as the safety measures to be taken. Moreover, the main provisions in the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap 374) that govern driving attitude and behaviour, including those on careless driving, dangerous driving or drink driving, are also applicable to village vehicle drivers.
To further enhance the safety awareness of village vehicle drivers, starting from January this year, the Transport Department will provide the permit holder a copy of the "Code of Practice for Using Village Vehicles" when it issues village vehicle permits, so as to remind drivers on the points to note when using their village vehicles. Besides, the Home Affairs Department and the Police will organise activities in collaboration with the District Councils to step up the publicity on road safety messages.
At present, there are only 785 village vehicles in Hong Kong. Since village vehicles are generally propelled by small engines, their impact on environmental pollution is insignificant. The Environmental Protection Department will closely monitor any possible environmental impacts caused by village vehicles. On the other hand, if Transport Department receives reports on environmental problems caused by individual village vehicles, it will, depending on the situation, take appropriate measures, such as varying the permit conditions to impose restrictions on vehicle use or requiring improvement to the vehicle's installations.
Ends/Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:00
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