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The following is issued on behalf of the Road Safety Council:
Chairman of the Road Safety Council Mr Tang King-shing warned today (May 12) that although the 139 deaths on Hong Kong roads in 2005 was a 47-year low, there was no room for complacency.
¡°While we are pleased by the low road fatality toll last year, we will continue to widely promote road safety in Hong Kong," Mr Tang said when addressing the Public Light Bus (PLB) Safety Campaign Prize Presentation Ceremony.
He said it was the Road Safety Council¡¯s ongoing initiative to enable a safe road environment, minimise traffic accidents and safeguard the lives of all road users.
The PLB Safety Campaign was organised by the Road Safety Council and the Transport Department.
The campaign aimed to enhance road safety awareness among the PLB sector and other road users, and to encourage safe driving practises among PLB drivers to achieve the vision of "Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong's Goal".
Also speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy Commissioner for Transport, Ms Carolina Yip, said measures were in place to step up driver training, enhance drivers¡¯ professional conduct and foster a culture of quality service in the PLB sector. Appropriate devices and information were also provided on PLBs to enable passengers to help monitor the service quality.
Running from January 15 to March 31, 2006, the campaign was open to all full-time PLB drivers with nominations from PLB associations, trade associations and service providers. Participants were required to take part in a quiz and write a short essay on PLB safety.
Among the 627 entries, an adjudicating panel selected 30 semi-finalists who had to pass the spot checks conducted by the panel to assess their safety behaviour, driving skills and service quality. Ten finalists were chosen and interviewed on safe driving experiences.
For the Individual Category, one Gold, two Silver and two Bronze prizes were awarded to winning drivers who received cash prizes of $5,000, $2,000 and $1,000 respectively. The remaining five finalists were presented with certificates.
The 30 semi-finalists were also entitled to a free four-day study tour to Singapore on safe driving in early June.
For the Group Category, PLB associations, trade associations or service providers filing the largest number of nominations received the Best Participation Award while those with the largest number of participants entering the semi-final were given the Best Performance Award. The awardees were given Gold, Silver and Bronze prizes.
Other officiating guests included Chairman of the Road Safety Campaign Committee, Mr Lawrence Yu; Chairperson of the Road Safety Publicity Strategy Working Group, Mrs Grace Lam; Chief Adjudicator of the PLB Safety Campaign, Mr Yeung Ka-sing; and Director of Retail Sales, ExxonMobil, Mr Shek Wai-ming.
Ends/Friday, May 12, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:02
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