- 29 -
-
Reply:
Mr President,
Since May 1993, there have been ten reported cases resulting in damage to overhead bridges. Details are annexed. Such damage is believed to have been caused by the vehicles with overheight loads.
Under the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations, it is an offence to drive a vehicle which, together with its load, exceeds 4.6m. The law does not provide for any exemption.
To obtain registration, goods vehicles must pass both a documentation check and a pre-registration examination to ensure that, amongst other things, the specified height is complied with. Vehicle heights are also checked at annual inspections. So far we have not come across any vehicle coming for annual inspection exceeding the prescribed height limit.
As a matter of course the Director of Highways will examine any footbridge/flyover that has been damaged to determine whether, apart from repairs, any other measures need to be taken. For example, because of the number of incidents involving the footbridge across Lung Cheung Road at Wong Tai Sin, its main span has recently been rebuilt to increase the headroom to enhance safety.
As regards preventive measures and publicity, detailed advice is already included in the Code of Practice for the Loading of Vehicles. This advice will be reinforced at Transport Department's regular meetings with representatives of the trucking industry. An article will also be included in the summer edition of the Department's Road Safety Quarterly.