The Road Traffic (Amendment) (Autonomous Vehicles) Bill 2022 (the Bill) was gazetted today (December 2).

     The Bill aims to establish a new regulatory framework to facilitate a wider trial and use of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Hong Kong by the industry.

     AV technology has the promising advantage of enhancing road safety, optimising the use of limited road space and thereby reducing car accidents arising from human error. Different regions across the world have also been conducting various road testings. In the Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint 2.0 published in December 2020, one of the smart mobility initiatives is to facilitate the technology advancement and industry development in Vehicle-to-Everything and AVs, with a vision of materialising the trial and use of AVs on public roads in Hong Kong.

     A spokesman for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "Currently, the regulation of road traffic and the use of vehicles and roads are governed by the Road Traffic Ordinance (RTO) and its subsidiary legislation. We propose amending the RTO and also empowering the Secretary for Transport and Logistics to make new subsidiary legislation, AVs Regulation, to establish a suitable regulatory regime to facilitate the trial and specified use of AVs."

     The Government consulted the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Transport and the Transport Advisory Committee on the legislative proposal on July 15 and October 25 this year respectively. Members welcomed the proposal in general.

     The Bill will be introduced into the LegCo for the First Reading and Second Reading on December 14.

     "After the passage of the Bill, the Transport Department will continue to collaborate with the industry through various channels to ensure a wider and more flexible trial and use of AVs in a safe and orderly manner as a new mode of transport in Hong Kong," the spokesman added.

Ends/Friday, December 2, 2022
Issued at HKT 12:20

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