LCQ3: Child restraint device
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Question:
In December 2013, the Government consulted the Panel on Transport of this Council on a proposal to raise the mandatory requirement of using child restraint device in private cars. The Government indicated that after conducting an opinion survey and drafting the legislation, it would introduce a legislative proposal into this Council in the 2014-2015 legislative session. However, no progress of the relevant work has been seen so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the casualties of passengers under the age of 12 in traffic accidents in each of the past five years and the percentage of such numbers in the relevant total casualties (set out in tables of the same format as the table below);
Year: ______
| Vehicle class | Killed Number (%) |
Seriously injured Number (%) |
Slightly injured Number (%) |
| Private car | |||
| Student service vehicle | |||
| Public bus | |||
| Public light bus | |||
| Taxi | |||
| Others (if any) |
(2) of the details of the work (e.g. research studies, consultation exercises and opinion surveys) undertaken by the Government since the aforesaid proposal was put forward in December 2013; and
(3) why the Government has not yet introduced the relevant legislative proposal into this Council; whether it will strive to have the relevant legislative proposal passed before the end of the current term of the Government; if so, of the timetable?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the various parts of the Dr Hon Pierre Chan's question is as follows:
(1) The number of casualties of passengers under the age of 12 in traffic accidents in the past five years and the percentage of such numbers in the relevant total casualties are tabulated at Annex. There has been a continuous decline in the total number of casualties of passengers under the age of 12 in traffic accidents, from 656 cases in 2013 to 493 cases in 2017, representing a reduction of 25 per cent. In the past three years, there was no traffic accident causing death of passengers under the age of 12 in private cars.
(2) and (3) On December 20, 2013, the Government consulted the Panel on Transport of the Legislative Council (Transport Panel) on a proposal to tighten the mandatory requirement of using child restraint device (CRD) in private cars. At the meeting, some members of the Transport Panel expressed concerns, including the possible financial impact for private car owners due to more stringent standards of the use of CRDs, the impact of the proposed legislative requirements on private car drivers who carry child passengers occasionally or during emergencies, the penalty and enforcement arrangements for violating the relevant requirements, as well as whether there was any plan to gauge the views of private car owners on the legislative proposal.
The Transport Department (TD) followed up and studied the views of Transport Panel, including conducting an opinion survey of private car owners, as well as consulting the Department of Justice and the Police on the enforcement aspects, such as the penalty levels, the collection of evidence, the circumstances for motorists to establish a reasonable defence and other enforcement details. In addition, the Police has enquired about the regulatory experience of law enforcement agencies in other jurisdictions. We are now formulating a detailed legal framework based on the views gathered. We will consult the Transport Panel and the stakeholders again as soon as a specific proposal is available.
Ends/Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Issued at HKT 14:30
Issued at HKT 14:30
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