LCQ13: Accidents caused by failing to engage fixed parking brake
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Question:
It has been reported that at the end of April this year, the Coroner's Court delivered its verdict on a traffic accident which occurred in December 2018. In that case, the driver concerned failed to engage the handbrake properly when parking the vehicle, causing the vehicle to lurch forward and resulting in the death of five people. As the driver was not driving the vehicle at the time of the incident, he was charged with the offence of "leaving a vehicle without a fixed parking brake", and was eventually fined $2,000 and had his driving licence suspended for six months, without being charged with a more serious offence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of traffic accidents caused by drivers failing to engage the handbrake properly (regardless of whether the drivers concerned were driving the vehicles at the time of the incidents) in the past five years; if the drivers concerned were convicted, of the offences involved and the penalties handed down respectively; and
(2) as that there are views that the penalties for the offence of "leaving a vehicle without a fixed parking brake" which causes casualties cannot reflect the seriousness of such incidents, and it has been reported that the Coroner, when adjudicating the aforesaid 2018 case, pointed out legislative loopholes and recommended that the authorities should discuss legislative amendments with the relevant departments expeditiously, whether the authorities will, in response to this recommendation, study amending the legislation to ensure that the penalties can reflect the seriousness of the offence, thereby increasing the deterrent effect; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government attaches great importance to road safety and continues to enhance it through legislation, law enforcement, publicity and public education. Regarding the question raised by the Hon Chong Ho-fung, having consulted the Hong Kong Police Force, our reply is as follows:
(1) Statistics on traffic accidents caused by drivers failing to properly engage the handbrake over the past five years are listed in the Annex. The Police do not maintain categorised statistics on prosecution results and penalties of relevant cases.
(2) In cases where traffic accidents are caused by failure to properly engage the handbrake, law enforcement agencies will consider the most appropriate offence for prosecution, depending on the specific circumstances, relevant evidence, and legal advice of each case.
In fact, on March 6 this year, the District Court sentenced a driver in connection with a serious traffic accident that occurred in the Soho district of Central in December 2021. In the case, a private car driver, while parking her vehicle on a slope, failed to properly engage the brakes and use the correct gear before leaving the vehicle, causing it to roll backwards, fatally crushing a pedestrian and injuring several others. The court ultimately convicted the driver of "causing death by dangerous driving" and "causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving", sentencing her to 27 months' imprisonment and imposing a five-year driving disqualification. The District Court held that a person can be convicted of dangerous driving if it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that the way he or she drives falls below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver, and it would be obvious to a careful and competent driver that driving in that way would be dangerous. This case illustrates that even if a driver has left the vehicle, failure to properly control it during the course of driving (including the parking process) still falls within the scope of current legislation on "dangerous driving".
Current legislation already prescribes deterrent penalties for the aforementioned offences. The maximum penalty for "dangerous driving" is a fine of HK$25,000 and imprisonment for three years. If dangerous driving causes grievous bodily harm to another person, the maximum penalty is a fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for seven years; and if dangerous driving causes death to another person, the maximum penalty is a fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for 10 years.
The Transport Department will continue to work with the Police and the Road Safety Council to strengthen publicity and public education through various channels, especially reminding drivers of the precautions required when driving and parking on slopes. These include engaging the handbrake when parking on slopes, using the correct gear, and turning the steering wheel in the correct direction to prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards or forwards, thereby ensuring road safety.
Ends/Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:50
Issued at HKT 11:50
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