LCQ1: Measures to enhance driving safety of elderly professional drivers
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Question:
It has been reported that a fatal accident involving an elderly taxi driver occurred in Ngau Tau Kok last month, raising public concerns about the driving safety of elderly professional drivers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as it has been reported that the authorities will strive to present enhanced legislative proposals to this Council in the second half of this year to lower the age threshold for commercial vehicle drivers to submit medical examination certificates to the age of 65 and amend the validity period of their driving licences, which will be subject to an annual medical check-up, of the latest progress of the work concerned; whether they will study, apart from medical examinations, requiring drivers to undergo regular actual or simulated road driving assessments;
(2) whether the authorities will, by making reference to the practices of some countries and regions, study implementing tiered driving permissions for elderly drivers according to their age and medical examination results (e.g. by restricting the types of vehicles they may drive and driving periods); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) as there are views that the problem of the ageing of commercial vehicle drivers is severe and that setting a blanket mandatory retirement age will have a significant impact on the manpower in the trade, of the effectiveness of the authorities' current measures to attract young people to join the trade; whether they will study introducing more targeted policies, such as improving salary packages and enhancing the working environment, to attract more young people to join the trade?
Reply:
President,
The Government has always attached great importance to road safety and is making sustained efforts in reviewing the arrangements related to the requirements for medical certification of commercial vehicle (CV) drivers in order to enhance the safety protection for the drivers themselves and other road users. The reply to the question raised by the Hon Lau Ka-keung is as follows:
(1) According to the Road Traffic (Driving Licences) Regulations (Cap. 374B) (the Regulations), a person aged 70 or above who applies for a full driving licence must provide a medical certificate completed and signed by a registered medical practitioner to prove that he/she is medically fit to drive. While general driving licences are valid for 10 years, persons aged 70 or above can only apply for driving licences with a validity period of one year or three years. Besides, if an applicant is suffering from a disease or physical disability specified in the First Schedule to the Regulations, such as epilepsy, the Commissioner for Transport shall refuse the application.
To further safeguard the safety of road users, the Government earlier reviewed the requirements under the Regulations, and proposed raising the medical certification requirements for drivers. The adjustments include amending the eyesight requirements to cover visual acuity and visual field, and imposing additional fitness requirements for CV drivers, such as hearing requirements. The Government also proposed lowering the age threshold for CV drivers to submit medical examination certificates from the age of 70 to 65, and shortening the validity period of their driving licences, to enable aged CV drivers to undergo medical examinations earlier and increase the frequency of such examinations to monitor their physical conditions. Meanwhile, a set of medical guidelines is being formulated for medical practitioners' reference when conducting medical examinations for drivers.
The Government has been exchanging views with various stakeholders on the items to be covered by the medical examinations and their frequency, among others, to ensure that the legislative proposals meet the actual circumstances and needs. To assist frontline medical practitioners in fully grasping the content of the medical guidelines, and to enhance CV drivers' understanding of the new assessment requirements, the Transport Department (TD) completed a trial health assessment in the fourth quarter of 2025 to solicit direct feedback from medical practitioners and CV drivers. The response of the trial assessment was positive. The result confirmed the feasibility and practicality of the proposed medical guidelines and medical examination certificates. With the experience gained, the TD is also further refining the content of the medical examination certificates and the assessment process to enhance the clarity of the content of the certificates while aligning with practical needs.
The Government is finalising the legislative details while proactively taking forward the law drafting and relevant preparatory work, with the target of reporting the latest progress of work in this respect to the Legislative Council Panel on Transport in July this year.
Apart from pursuing the aforesaid legislative amendments, the Government will also continue to explore ways to apply innovative technology and artificial intelligence to the assessment of the driving performance of aged drivers, drawing on the experiences across different regions. For example, we note that self-service medical examination kiosks in the Chinese Mainland provide basic physical checks for driving licence applicants, and that South Korea has launched a voluntary driving simulation test scheme for elderly drivers this year. The Government will closely monitor the development and efficacy of these technologies and explore the feasibility of introducing similar services in the future.
Meanwhile, we are maintaining close communication with the Health Bureau to explore how primary healthcare services can be leveraged to encourage CV drivers to understand and continuously monitor their own health conditions at an early stage.
(2) According to the Government's current legislative proposal, if driving licence applicants or holders suffer from specified diseases applicable to CV drivers, they will no longer be permitted to drive a CV.
Regarding the implementation of age restrictions or tiered driving permissions for CV drivers, we understand that the circumstances of the transport industry vary across the world, with practices differ accordingly. For instance, no restrictions are imposed in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, whereas age restrictions are imposed on the types of vehicles allowed to be driven in the Chinese Mainland. Given that requiring aged drivers to undergo regular health assessments can help them gain a timely understanding of their physical conditions, thereby enabling them to prevent and seek treatment for illnesses that may affect their driving ability, and that this practice is more common in other places, we recommend first implementing the enhanced requirements for medical certification of CV drivers as soon as practicable. Building on this, the Government will comprehensively consider, on a risk-based principle, multiple factors including developments of the relevant trades, the traffic accident rates involving CVs and the latest practices in other places, while keeping an open mind in studying various suggestions and listening to public views.
(3) The Government has all along been keeping in view the manpower shortage and ageing situation of drivers in the transport industry. On general qualifications for driving, the Government has relaxed the eligibility requirements for the application of CV driving licences since October 1, 2020, shortening the minimum period required for a person to hold a valid driving licence to drive a private car or a light goods vehicle before applying for a CV driving licence from three years to one year.
The Government has also kept exploring with the trade appropriate measures to enhance service quality, and encouraging the creation of a desirable working environment. In this regard, franchised bus operators have in recent years introduced arrangements including part-time employment and flexible working hours to attract young drivers to join as employees. As for public light buses, the TD and the Employees Retraining Board launched in 2024 a placement-tied driving training scheme for the green minibus trade through training organisations to encourage locals to join the trade. In addition, the Government further enhanced the Taxi Written Test in November 2025. Following the enhancement, the average monthly number of candidates sitting the test has increased by 40 per cent, while the numbers of candidates taking and passing the test at the age of 29 or below have both recorded an increase. In recent years, the Government has also implemented a series of measures, such as introducing taxi fleets with systematic management and mandating taxi drivers to provide electronic payment methods, with a view to enhancing the service quality and overall image of the taxi trade, thereby attracting new blood to join the trade.
The Government will continue to maintain close liaison with the trade and actively review the latest manpower situation to attract more new blood to join the transport sector.
Thank you, President.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:30
Issued at HKT 14:30
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