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57
Driving Offence Points System
Following is a question by the Hon Henry Tang Ying-yen and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport, Mr Haider Barma, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
With regard to the Driving Offence Points System which was introduced in August 1984, will the Government inform this Council :
(a)
(b)
(c)
whether the Scheme has achieved its objectives of improving road safety as well as deterring frequent offenders of traffic regulations so as to raise their driving standard and reduce accident-induced casualties;
of the total number of drivers who were disqualified from holding a driving licence for three months after incurring 15 penalty points in the past two years; of this number, how many were disqualified for another six months for committing a further offence; and
what other measures apart from putting out posters and Announcements of Public Interest (APIs) when the system was first introduced have been taken by the Government to arouse the awareness of drivers and to make them understand clearly the number of points incurred in respect of the 14 categories of offences which directly affect road safety?
Reply:
Mr President,
(a)
Since the Driving Offence Points system was introduced in 1984, there has been a marked decline in the number of traffic accidents, notwithstanding the significant increase in numbers of vehicles over the same period. For example, there were 4,968 serious and fatal accidents in 1984, compared with 3,558 in 1994. This declining trend is due to a number of factors, but we believe that the Driving Offence Points System has also played its part in improving road safety.