LCQ2: Prevention of fatigue and inattentive driving
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Question:
In recent months, a number of accidents have been reported in Hong Kong involving vehicles colliding from behind with a roadside broken-down vehicle or a road works vehicle. There are views that the absence of evidence of braking at the time of incident among quite a number of the vehicles involved has raised suspicions that fatigue or inattentive driving might have played a role. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of traffic accidents, as well as the corresponding number of casualties, recorded each month over the past three years involving vehicles colliding with a roadside broken-down vehicle, a road works vehicle or a shadow vehicle, with a breakdown by cause of accident, location of occurrence, type of road users involved, and severity of casualties;
(2) given that all taxis are currently mandated to be fitted with a tamper-proof Journey Recording System, whether the Government will extend this measure to other commercial vehicles and comprehensively review the Guidelines on Bus Captain Working Hours, Rest Times and Meal Breaks, as well as legislate maximum driving hours and mandatory rest times to prevent fatigue driving; and
(3) given that the United Nations and the European Union have already adopted statutory regulations mandating new vehicles to be fitted with a surveillance system that uses cameras to monitor the driver's fatigue condition through driving behaviour analysis, whether consideration will be given to legislating the mandatory fitting of such systems in all newly registered private cars and commercial vehicles, particularly goods vehicles, buses and taxis?
Reply:
President,
The Government has placed great importance on road safety and has been taking multi-pronged measures to consistently strengthen the protection of road users. In consultation with the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), the reply to the question raised by the Hon Aaron Bok is as follows:
(1) In the past three years, i.e. from 2023 to 2025, the recorded numbers of traffic accidents involving collisions with stationary works vehicles or escort vehicles were six, three, and four cases, respectively. These accidents resulted in seven, three, and nine casualties. Both the number of accidents and the number of injuries remained in the single digits. The locations of these accidents did not show a clear geographical pattern. From a more macro perspective, the number of traffic accidents involving fatal or serious injury showed an overall downward trend from 2021 to 2025. The HKPF and the Transport Department (TD) do not maintain records of accidents involving vehicles that stopped on roads due to breakdowns.
When traffic accidents occur, the relevant departments will investigate the causes and study improvement measures. The TD will also analyse the accident data at the scene of the traffic accident to identify any obvious accident patterns or common causes, and follow up on improvement measures with the relevant departments and control area operators.
The HKPF has already stepped up enforcement action continuously by launching large-scale operations targeting inattentive driving. Within this month, the HKPF has again initiated a special operation, focusing on combatting inattentive driving by commercial vehicle drivers.
Publicity and education are of great importance. The TD will continue to remind the trade through regular meetings with the commercial vehicle industry to avoid fatigue driving and to pay extra attention to road works and changes in road conditions when driving on expressways. We will also actively contribute to the Road Safety Council's promotion efforts targeting drivers.
(2) Electronic data recorders, commonly known as black boxes, have already been installed, or are in the process of being installed, in most public transport vehicles, including buses, public light buses, and taxis, to enhance regulatory efficiency and road safety.
We will continue to review the effectiveness of these devices and study whether it is appropriate to require other commercial vehicles to have black boxes installed.
Regarding the working hours and rest arrangements for bus drivers, franchised bus operators (FBOs) are currently required to schedule working hours and rest periods for drivers in accordance with the guidelines issued by the TD to prevent driver fatigue. The TD requires FBOs to submit monthly reports and will arrange regular meetings with them, and proactively conducts surveys to ascertain whether the relevant arrangements comply with the guidelines. Reports and surveys have both shown that FBOs' scheduling arrangements fully comply with the guidelines under normal circumstances, with a compliance rate exceeding 99 per cent. For the very few cases or situations of non-compliance with the guidelines, the TD will strictly require FBOs to follow up on the relevant cases and rectify.
(3) We are actively leveraging technology to enhance road safety. Currently, driver monitoring systems are being installed progressively in buses and taxi fleets to detect driver fatigue and issue alerts. At present, nearly 40 per cent of franchised buses are already equipped with such systems. The TD plans to mandate the installation of these systems in all newly procured franchised buses starting July this year through franchise agreements.
At present, all fleet taxis have been equipped with a driver monitoring system. When the system detects that a vehicle is deviating from its lane or getting too close to the vehicle in front, it will issue a warning to alert the driver. We hope that fleet taxis can serve as a model to encourage other taxis to follow suit.
At the same time, the TD will conduct in-depth study on the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and applicability of the driver monitoring systems to other types of vehicles, consult experts from the Road Safety Research Committee in the second half of the year, and present to and consult the Legislative Council Panel on Transport, which will assist in our comprehensive review and implementation.
Thank you, President.
Ends/Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:58
Issued at HKT 14:58
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