***********************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Road Safety Council:
Traffic accident fatality rates in 2005 have dropped to a 47-year low, but a lot of work remains to be done to achieve the vision of "Zero Accidents on the Road", Chairperson of the Road Safety Publicity Strategies Working Group, Mrs Grace Lam, said today (April 23).
Addressing the Road Safety Vision and Symbol Campaign Launching Ceremony and Carnival, Mrs Lam said, "While we are pleased by the low road fatality toll last year, we must not be complacent. We must remain committed to minimising the number of traffic accidents in Hong Kong, and continue to promote road safety among citizens of all walks of life."
"In a densely populated city like Hong Kong, where we have extensive heavily used roads, it is extremely important to stay alert to potential hazards on the road at all times," Mrs Lam said.
"Traffic accidents not only affect those involved, but also their families and friends. Economic losses are also incurred if death or serious injury makes it impossible for those involved to continue working."
Mrs Lam called for concerted efforts of the government and members of the public to enhance road safety to achieve the vision of "Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong's Goal".
A new series of five 10-second road safety promotion videos was unveiled at the launch ceremony as part of the publicity campaign by the Road Safety Council to promote the importance of road safety in the hope that traffic accidents in Hong Kong will be further reduced.
The promotional videos will be shown on the video wall at Times Square, Causeway Bay for three weeks starting May 1.
A cheerful and eye-catching symbol of road safety, "Mr Egg", was also present at the ceremony. The egg symbol denotes "zero" as in the vision of "Zero Accidents on the Road". The S-shaped green strip on Mr Egg represents "road safety". The red heart embedded with "HK" means that all citizens must be committed to the Road Safety Vision to achieve the goal of zero accidents.
Other officiating guests included Mr Lau Ka-keung, Deputy Commissioner for Transport; and Mr Blake Hancock, Chief Superintendent of Police.
Following the launch ceremony, hundreds of citizens and children participated in booth games at the carnival. The games were specially designed to reinforce the significance of road safety and to raise public awareness of the subject.
Ends/Sunday, April 23, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:55
NNNN
