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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Ho Chun-yan and an oral reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, in the Legislative Council meeting today (December 14) :
Question :
A man was prosecuted and convicted for driving a vehicle at a speed of 97 kilometres per hour (km/hr) along a particular section of the Lantau Link in July last year, which exceeded the speed limit of 80 km/hr for that road section. The man subsequently lodged an appeal. In September last year, a Judge of the High Court ruled in favour of the appellant on grounds that the speed limit of 80 km/hr for the road section was invalid because the authorities had not, as required by the law, published a notice of it in the Gazette, and the traffic sign stipulating the relevant speed limit was therefore misleading to the appellant. Since then, the Department of Justice has not lodged an appeal against the ruling and the authorities have not yet published a notice of the speed limit for that road section in the Gazette. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the reasons for not publishing, immediately after the relevant authority had decided not to lodge an appeal, a notice of the relevant speed limit in the Gazette;
(b) whether the Police has, since September last year, instituted any prosecution against drivers on grounds that they had driven in excess of the speed limit on that road section; if so, of the number of prosecutions instituted and the speed limit on which the prosecutions were based; and
(c) as a notice for the relevant speed limit has not been published in the Gazette, of the legal basis for the Police's law enforcement actions?
Reply :
Madam President,
Section 40 of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) stipulates that the maximum speed at which a vehicle may be driven on any road shall be 50 kilometres per hour ("km/h). The Commissioner for Transport may by notice in the Gazette vary the speed limit.
In July 2004, a man was prosecuted and convicted for driving a vehicle at a speed of 97 km/h, which exceeded the speed limit of 80 km/h, along a particular section of the Lantau Link. The man subsequently lodged an appeal. In September 2004, the court ruled in favour of the appellant. We did not publish, immediately after we had decided not to lodge an appeal, a notice of the relevant speed limit in the Gazette. It was because at that time, we were of the view that the Lantau Link was part of the Tsing Ma Control Area (TMCA) and was governed by the Tsing Ma Control Area Ordinance (Cap. 498). According to that Ordinance, it was not necessary to gazette the speed limit.
However, after the relevant case, we have carried out a comprehensive review on the application of the provisions in the Road Traffic Ordinance to TMCA and various tunnel areas. The review concluded that the provisions relating to speeding in the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) should also be applicable to TMCA, and it was necessary under that Ordinance to gazette speed limits other than those of 50km/h, irrespective of whether drivers were to be prosecuted for speeding under the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) or the Tsing Ma Control Area (General) Regulations (Cap. 498B). Relevant notices have been published in the Gazette.
Between September 2004 and the gazettal of the speed limit, the Police did not institute any prosecutions against drivers for driving in excess of the speed limit on that section of road.
Ends/Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Issued at HKT 13:14
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