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Following is a question by the Hon Frankie Yick and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (May 20):
Question:
It has been reported that recently, a taxi driver who had been disqualified from driving by the court continued to rent a taxi to take passengers to earn a living during disqualification and, in an attempt to evade a police stop check, engaged in furious driving, eventually causing a traffic accident which involved the collisions of nine vehicles. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of drivers prosecuted in the past five years for driving during disqualification, with a breakdown by vehicle class; of the measures currently in place to combat driving during disqualification;
(2) of the number of applications to the Police for a Certificate Relating to Previous Conviction from drivers or persons authorised by them in each of the past five years; as it is learnt that the Certificate is available in English only, whether the authorities will consider providing a Chinese version; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) given that some members of the transport sector have indicated that while they regularly check if the drivers they hire are holding valid driving licences, driving licences are normally valid for a period of 10 years and carry no information about traffic offences committed by the holders, whether the authorities have studied with the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data the conditions under which a "blacklist" may be provided for reference of employers or vehicle owners so that they will not inadvertently employ drivers who have been disqualified from driving; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether they will conduct the relevant study; and
(4) given that at a meeting of the Joint Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Insurance Coverage for the Transport Sector of this Council in April 2012, some members suggested that in the event that a driver was alleged to have committed a traffic offence, the Police could provide a copy of the Notice of Intended Prosecution to or notify the vehicle owner concerned, and the public officer had then undertaken to study the suggestion, of the progress of the study; whether the suggestion will be implemented; if so, of the details; if not, the measures the authorities have in place to facilitate vehicle owners (including those of taxis/public light buses) in getting to know that the drivers renting their vehicles have been involved in traffic accidents so that they can follow up on whether the drivers have been disqualified?
Reply:
President,
My reply to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Frankie Yick is as follows.
(1) In the past five years, the number of cases concerning driving during disqualification periods prosecuted by the Police and broken down by vehicle classes is tabulated below:
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
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Vehicle class
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Private car 111 102 94 80 104
Motorcycle 6 6 5 4 1
Taxi 22 14 12 16 11
Goods vehicle 27 31 32 27 32
Private light bus 4 0 0 1 0
Public light bus 4 0 3 6 1
Public bus 0 0 0 2 1
Other vehicles 2 0 0 0 0
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Total 176 153 146 136 150
The Police combat driving during disqualification periods through routine patrolling and setting up roadblocks to stop vehicles and question drivers. Further, since March this year, the Police have fully implemented the Automatic Number Plate Recognition System. Under the system, number plates of vehicles will be scanned by a camera automatically and compared instantly with the database. This will enhance the Police's capabilities to screen and stop suspect vehicles.
(2) In the past five years, the number of applications received by the Police for a Certificate Relating to Previous Conviction (the Certificate) is as follows:
Year Number of Applications
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2014 13 468
2013 12 623
2012 12 276
2011 11 090
2010 10 175
At present, upon receipt of all relevant documents and payment of prescribed fees in cash from an applicant of the Certificate and upon confirmation that all the fixed penalties, additional penalties and costs ordered by the court or magistrate have been settled by the applicant, the Police will issue to the applicant instantly the English version of the Certificate which is a direct output from the computer system. The Police will also arrange for issuance of the Chinese version of the Certificate upon request of individual applicants. After the upgrading of the computer system by the Police in 2017, the system will be able to provide instantly a bilingual version of the Certificate.
(3) and (4) According to the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) and the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) Ordinance (Cap. 375), a person who has been disqualified from driving by the court shall, in compliance with the court order, deposit his driving licence with the court. Any person who fails to comply with the order commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $3,000 and imprisonment for one month. As such, in general, employers or vehicle owners can ascertain whether the drivers employed have been disqualified from driving by regularly checking whether their drivers are holding valid driving licences or not.
Moreover, employers or vehicle owners may consider requesting drivers to produce a Certificate Relating to Previous Conviction issued by the Police or a Certificate of Driving Licence Particulars issued by the Transport Department (TD) during recruitment. Both types of certificates can show whether the driving licences of the drivers are valid or not. Employers or vehicle owners may also request their drivers to produce the certificates concerned from time to time during the employment period as a proof that their driving licences are still valid. The two types of certificates may be applied for and collected by holders of the driving licences or their authorised persons (such as their employers or prospective employers).
Apart from the above existing arrangements, the TD is looking into the feasibility of setting up an online system in the GovHK to allow holders of driving licences or their authorised persons to check if the driving licences are still valid.
Regarding the recommendation for the Police to serve a copy of the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to the owner of a vehicle involved in a traffic offence, as suggested by members of the Joint Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Insurance Coverage for the Transport Sector, the Government sought the advice of the Department of Justice. According to the legal advice, the recommendation involves privacy concern and that the Road Traffic Ordinance has not conferred the power on the Police to deliver an NIP in respect of all violations of traffic offences to the vehicle owners who are not related to the cases. As mentioned above, employers or vehicle owners may regularly check whether the drivers employed are holding valid driving licences; or request the drivers to provide a Certificate Relating to Previous Conviction or a Certificate of Driving Licence Particulars to ascertain whether their driving licences are valid or not. The Government will continue to maintain close contact with the transport trade and remind drivers to observe traffic regulations and maintain good communications with vehicle owners.
Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:30
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