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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Raymond Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (February 15) :
Question:
It has been reported that while the forms required of the letters and numerals on the plates displaying the registration marks of motor vehicles are prescribed by the existing legislation, the majority of motor vehicles running on the roads in Hong Kong are carrying registration plates that do not comply with the provisions concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of cases in which owners of motor vehicles were prosecuted in the past five years, for breaching the above provisions as well as the number of successful prosecutions; and
(b) as the relevant legislation was enacted 50 years ago, whether it will consider amending it to specify more clearly the forms required of the letters and numerals on the plates, so as to facilitate compliance by owners of motor vehicles and enforcement by law enforcement agencies?
Reply:
Madam President,
Under the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (the Regulations), the letters and numerals of vehicle registration marks shall comply with the form, proportions, arrangement and height requirement specified in Schedule 4 to the Regulations. The Schedule also stipulates the requirements regarding the colours, construction, fitting and illumination of vehicle registration marks. These provisions aim to ensure that law enforcement officers can clearly identify the registration mark of individual vehicles.
In the past five years, the Police issued 14,373 fixed penalty tickets for failure to comply with the relevant regulations. In addition, there were 524 successful prosecutions and convictions through summons. The Police do not have record of the number of prosecutions for failure to comply with the required form of letters and numerals of vehicle registration marks. The Regulations, which were enacted in 1983, are reviewed from time to time. We will consider the need for legislative amendments should there be any ambiguities that cause enforcement problems.
Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:30
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