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Following is a question by the Hon James Tien and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (January 16):
Question:
There have been public comments that the current penalties and sentences for dangerous driving are too lenient, and this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to curb the offence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of a breakdown, by the class of the vehicles involved, of the number of prosecutions instituted in relation to dangerous driving in the past three years, and how the penalties imposed by the court on the persons convicted compare with the maximum penalties for the offence;
(b) whether it has looked into the reasons why drivers of public transport vehicles drove dangerously, and how these reasons differ from those for drivers of private cars who committed the same offence; and
(c) whether it has studied if there are any measures that can more effectively curb the act of dangerous driving, such as in appropriate cases, seeking the promulgation of a sentencing guideline by the Court of Appeal; if it has, of the details of such measures?
Reply:
Madam President,
We have been implementing a number of measures to enhance road safety. My reply to the three parts of the main question is as follows:
(a) Under section 37 of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374), drivers can be charged with "dangerous driving" for the way they drive. The numbers of drivers prosecuted and subsequently convicted of dangerous driving and causing death by dangerous driving in the past three years as at end-2007, with a breakdown by the class of vehicles driven by them when committing the offences, are set out in the Annex.
A person convicted of "dangerous driving" is liable to a maximum fine of $25,000, imprisonment for three years and disqualification from driving. A driver may be disqualified from driving for a period of not less than six months in the case of a first conviction and for a period of not less than 18 months in the case of a second or subsequent conviction. Under section 36 of the Ordinance, a driver may be charged with "causing death by dangerous driving" if he drove dangerously and caused death to a person. Upon conviction, the driver is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000, imprisonment for five years and disqualification from driving. A convicted driver may be disqualified from driving for a period of not less than two years in the case of a first conviction, and for a period of not less than three years in the case of a second or subsequent conviction.
As regards the sentences handed down by the court, in the past three years, for convictions of dangerous driving, the maximum imprisonment sentence imposed was three months, the maximum fine was $10,000 and the maximum period of disqualification from driving was three years. For convictions of causing death by dangerous driving in the same period, the maximum imprisonment sentence imposed was 22 months, the maximum fine was $20,000 and the maximum period of disqualification from driving was five years.
(b) Drivers are charged with dangerous driving on consideration of the way they drive and the circumstantial evidence. As each convicted case has its own special circumstances, it is not appropriate for us to come to a broad-brush categorisation or judgment on the causes of dangerous driving among drivers of public transport vehicles or private cars. However, information on the convictions in the past two years indicates that a relatively high number of cases were related to drivers (both private car and public transport vehicle drivers) disobeying traffic signals, changing lanes carelessly and driving inattentively. Other inappropriate driving behaviour included crossing a double white line and making turns, overtaking or making U-turns carelessly, etc.
(c) We have been examining on an ongoing basis ways to combat dangerous driving and other inappropriate driving behaviour through legislation, enforcement as well as publicity and education.
(i) On legislation, we increased the penalty for disobeying traffic signals in 2006. To impose a heavier penalty on drivers who endanger other people's lives because of their inappropriate driving behaviour and to enhance the deterrent effect, we plan to introduce legislative amendment to increase the term of imprisonment for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving from five years to ten years. We also plan to make it a legislative requirement for drivers who have committed serious traffic offences (including dangerous driving, drink driving, illegal motor racing etc.) and for repeat traffic offenders who have incurred ten or more driving-offence points to attend driving improvement courses with a view to improving their driving attitude through education. We plan to submit the relevant bill to the Legislative Council in the first quarter of this year.
Given the principle of judicial independence, we cannot simply request the Court of Appeal to lay down sentencing guidelines. According to legal advice, not all offences are appropriate for setting of sentencing guidelines. Whilst it is relatively easy to set objective sentencing tariffs for certain offences (e.g. those involving drugs or money), it is much more difficult in case of a dangerous driving offence because each case has its specific circumstances (including road conditions, weather, the accused's physical condition, behaviour of other road users, or whether there were casualties, etc.). The judge has to take into account all relevant circumstances before imposing a sentence. It may not be appropriate for the Court of Appeal to lay down sentencing guidelines. However, if the Court of Appeal has set out the sentencing factors which should be or have been considered in the judgment of certain cases, these judgments can be drawn upon as reference in future.
Moreover, the Legislative Council can through increasing the penalties for a certain offence by the enactment of new legislation to reflect public opinion of a certain offence that is getting serious or prevalent, and for the sentencing judges to draw upon as reference.
(ii) On enforcement, the Police have also been strengthening their manpower to step up enforcement in recent years. They undertake large-scale special enforcement operations from time to time, such as those targeted at public service vehicles, anti-drink driving and anti-illegal road racing etc., in order to combat inappropriate driving behaviour.
(iii) On publicity and education, we have been working with the Road Safety Council to enhance road safety by publicity and education, instilling in drivers the concept of "smart driving with courtesy", as well as promoting a courteous and considerate driving attitude. We have been publicising the road safety messages through Announcement of Public Interests on television and radio, leaflets, tunnel billboards and bus body advertisements on a regular basis. We have also organised talks, seminars, thematic training courses and road safety workshops particularly for the transport trades to promote compliance with traffic signals and a responsible driving culture. Our publicity and education efforts will continue.
Ends/Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:45
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