​Following is a question by the Hon Lam Wai-kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (June 24):

Question:

     Since the beginning of this year, a number of serious traffic incidents have occurred in the Tsing Ma Control Area (TMCA) (including the Tsing Ma Bridge and the connecting approach viaducts/ramps), resulting in casualties among road users and staff members of the control area. There are views that as some roads in TMCA do not have hard shoulders of sufficient width, motorists and staff handling emergencies will lack a buffer space in the event of a traffic accident or vehicle breakdown, thus exposing them to safety risks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of traffic incidents that occurred in TMCA, the locations of the incidents, and the numbers of injuries and deaths in the incidents respectively in the past three years;

(2) as the Government indicated in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on June 10 this year that the Transport Department had stipulated service requirements for handling traffic accidents, including specific time frames for operational staff to arrive at the scene, for rescue vehicles to arrive, and for traffic lanes to be reopened, of the respective detailed service standards, response time requirements and relevant indicators stipulated in the contract signed between the Government and the operator; the number of monitoring exercises or inspections conducted by the Government on the operator's service standards and code of practice in the past three years, and how to assess whether the operator has met the standards;

(3) given the views that the operational staff are not currently provided with adequate standard operating procedures and guidelines by the operator of TMCA in handling vehicle breakdowns/traffic accidents, and they may not be provided with vehicles equipped with collision prevention devices, whether the Government and the operator of TMCA will re-assess the risks of incidents in the control area and develop a safe emergency management system to formulate corresponding standard operating procedures and countermeasures in light of different circumstances, as well as enhance education and training for relevant operational staff; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) given that relevant warning signals are currently displayed on the traffic signs commonly known as gantries in TMCA, whether the Government has plans to require the operator to install more visual warning systems and equipment (e.g. projection devices and flashing lanterns) at different locations of the roads and the tunnel in TMCA, so as to raise motorists' alertness to vehicle breakdowns and traffic accidents ahead; if so, of the respective types, quantities and installation schedules of the relevant equipment; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) given the views that the recent spate of serious traffic incidents has revealed that members of the public lack situational awareness of vehicle breakdowns or traffic accidents on expressways without hard shoulders, whether the Government will provide more guidelines on the handling of incidents to motorists and members of the public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Government attaches great importance to the traffic safety in Control Areas and the safety of staff of the Control Area Operator (the Operator) while they are on duty. The Transport Department (TD) maintains close communication with the Operator and monitors its implementation of various safety guidelines, while regularly reviewing the relevant guidelines to ensure the safe operation of the Control Area. My response, after consultation with the Hong Kong Police Force (the Police), to the question raised by the Hon Lam Wai-kong is as follows:

(1) The number of traffic accidents and casualties by road sections in the Tsing Ma Control Area in the past three years (i.e. from 2023 to 2025) are tabulated in the Annex.

(2) The TD has stipulated the service requirements for handling traffic incidents in the agreement with the Operator. For the upper deck of the Lantau Link, the Operator's first operational staff must arrive at the incident scene within five minutes of being notified of the incident. Subsequently, a light recovery vehicle or a medium/heavy recovery vehicle must arrive at the incident scene within six minutes and 12 minutes respectively after the arrival of the first operational staff. As for the time limit for reopening of traffic lane(s), it depends on the type of vehicle to be removed. Private cars and motorcycles must be removed within five minutes of the recovery vehicle's arrival at the scene; light goods vehicles, medium goods vehicles, light buses and single-deck buses must be removed within eight minutes of the recovery vehicle's arrival at the scene; and double-deck buses, heavy goods vehicles and articulated vehicles must be removed within 12 minutes of the recovery vehicle's arrival at the scene.

     The TD has established an effective and comprehensive monitoring mechanism for the Operator. The TD regularly deploys staff to the Tsing Ma Control Area for on-site monitoring, to ensure the incident handling procedures strictly comply with the service standards stipulated in the agreement. The TD also closely supervises the service performance of the Operator through on-site inspections, review of detailed traffic incident reports, and audit of monthly reports submitted by the Operator. Over the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, the TD conducted over 700 on-site inspections and reviewed a total of 431 traffic incident reports to verify whether the Operator had handled the traffic incidents in accordance with established procedures and standards. Besides, the TD would also review CCTV footage of traffic incidents to examine the on-site operations, contingency co-ordination and safety awareness of the Operator's frontline staff, with a view to assessing their actual service performance more comprehensively.

(3) The TD attaches great importance to the operational safety of the Operator's frontline staff. Currently, the Operator has clear guidelines instructing operating staff on the procedures for handling different traffic incidents. To further enhance the protection of frontline staff, the TD earlier completed a comprehensive review with the Operator and implemented a number of improvement measures. As part of the newly revised standing procedures, once a traffic incident is detected, the Operator will not only immediately dispatch a patrol car to the scene, but also dispatch a safety vehicle equipped with a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) to provide assistance and a protective barrier for those at the scene. The Operator would also deploy an additional TMA to carry out safety protection measures in conjunction with patrol cars, further enhancing incident response capability.

     In terms of internal management and training, the Operator held briefings again in mid-May for all ground staff to reinforce their safety awareness and to ensure their strict compliance with the relevant guidelines. During the pre-shift briefing at the start of each shift, the Operator would repeatedly remind relevant operational staff to comply with the safety guidelines. The Operator has also restructured its routine training programmes and field exercises to emphasise the importance of occupational safety on traffic lanes. Furthermore, apart from reviewing written incident records, the Operator's management staff would also review CCTV footage to assess staff performance in handling traffic incidents. The TD will continue to supervise the Operator's implementation of the above internal management and training initiatives and conduct continuous reviews.

(4) Currently, the variable message sign system and lane control signals in the Tsing Ma Control Area can automatically adjust their brightness according to changes in ambient light, using the highest brightness on sunny days to ensure drivers can see the information more clearly. The installation of warning lights and variable message signs also allow drivers sufficient time to notice relevant traffic accident information.
      
     To enhance drivers' awareness of sudden road incidents, the TD has expanded the activation area of warning signal lights. Under the new arrangement, the activation range will be extended one gantry further forward as compared with the current arrangement, and will also cover the lights ahead of the adjacent lanes to the incident, so as to provide earlier warning. In addition, under the new arrangement, when an incident occurs on the Lantau Link, the variable message signs will clearly indicate the affected traffic lane.

     Apart from visual warnings, the Cheung Tsing Tunnel will broadcast continuous tunnel announcements during emergencies. Furthermore, the TD and the Operator are also progressively installing warning lights or additional flashing lights on safety vehicles and patrol cars to enhance warning for vehicles approaching from behind, so as to safeguard the safety of frontline staff and road users through multiple measures.

(5) To enhance road users' awareness and vigilance in the event of a traffic accident, the Road Users' Code provides drivers with instructions on handling breakdowns and emergencies on the road. In general, motorists should prioritise their own safety and immediately switch on the hazard warning lights to warn other motorists. If possible, the broken-down vehicle should be moved off the roadway, unless it is certain that both motorists and passengers can safely leave the roadway and await assistance in a safe location. Otherwise, motorists and passengers should not leave the broken-down vehicle and should continue to wear the seatbelt. Once coming out of the broken-down vehicle, the motorist and passenger should not remain on the roadway or stand in front of or behind it, and must stay alert of passing vehicles.

     In addition, the TD has been working with the Road Safety Council and the Police to conduct various publicity and education activities, such as social media campaigns and seminars, to promote the handling manner of incidents on the road to drivers and enhance road users' safety awareness.

Ends/Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:42

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