24
Wednesday, May 24, 1972
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN LION ROCK TUNNEL
Need For Better Recovery Equipment
Government is now examining the need for more powerful recovery
equipment to speed up the removal of heavy vehicles in case of traffic
accidents inside the Lion Rock Tunnel.
The Financial Secretary, the Hon. C.P. Haddon-Cave, stated this
today in the Legislative Council in reply to a question by the Hon. Szeto Wai.
Mr. Szeto had asked: "Would Government state whether there have
been delays in clearing vehicles involved in a collision inside the Lion
Rock Tunnel and evacuating the persons injured and, if so, what steps are
being taken to ensure that these delays do not recur?"
Mr. Haddon-Cave said that where accidents involving heavy vehicles
occurred in the Tunnel, there were sometimes unavoidable delays in moving
such vehicles from the Tunnel because of their size and the practical
difficulties involved in shifting them in a confined space.
He told the Council that the Commissioner for Transport was conscious
that every effort must be made by his Tunnel staff to avoid delays in clearing
vehicles involved in a collision inside the Tunnel and evacuating injured
persona.
"The operational instruction dealing with vehicle accidents in the
Lion Rock Tunnel provides for the application of immediate first aid treatment
to injured persons, and, if necessary, conveying them to hospital for further
medical treatment as expeditiously as possible; and for the speedy clearance
of damaged vehicles from the tunnel so that traffic flow is not impeded."
/As regards