HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 22 February 1989
香港立法局 一九八九年二月二十二日
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Most drivers do not intentionally choose to violate the law. Very often, they are the victims of the many road-works and road re-routings that take place all over Hong Kong all the time, and the frequent changes made to road signs which are confusing and which escape their notice. Drivers not familiar with such road conditions fall prey to police officers or traffic wardens on the lurk for unintending offenders.
For professional drivers who are on the road every day, the hefty fines being proposed will cost more than a day's wages. Who likes to lose a day's wages because of an unintentional mistake? I think we must not be indifferent to the plight of the average decent professional driver who has to make a living. If I tell my teacher that he/she will lose a day's wages if he/she is found unintentionally teaching a concept wrongly in class, I am being unreasonably harsh to the teacher. But if I fire a teacher who plays dangerously with chemicals in the laboratory resulting in an explosion, I am sure nobody with dispute what I do.
For serious offences such as those in items 2, 2A, 2B, 24, 29 and 49 of the Schedule, I support the level of fines proposed. But for the minor offences, I would urge my honourable colleagues and the Administration to re-consider the package discreetly, having sympathetic regard to the plight of the driving public.
With these remarks, Sir, I regret that I do not support the motion that these regulations have to be passed en bloc.
SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT: Sir, I wish to thank Dr. IP and Mr. CHEUNG for their helpful comments. I would like to make several observations.
The current supporting computer facilities for the fixed penalty system contain only information on driving licence holders and vehicle owners. To develop a new computer system to cover all residents in the territory so as to make front seat passengers liable to fixed penalty would be very costly and not likely to be cost effective.
To minimize public inconvenience, extra administrative work and court time, the present traffic summons system already allows a person to plead guilty to the offence by letter.
Turning to the proposed level of increase, if inflation and the growth in average income are taken into account, the fine levels should have been increased by 70% instead of 40%. However, fixed penalty fines are designed on