XN000022-1995-07-12 — Page 62

Reply:

-

50 -

Mr President,

The issue of fixed penalty tickets for traffic offences is, understandably, a controversial subject. No one likes to receive such a ticket. The Police on the beat and traffic wardens have a very difficult job. But tough enforcement action is essential in busy districts. The instruction to the officers concerned is that they should take immediate action to issue fixed penalty tickets to the drivers of vehicles which are illegally parked or waiting in areas where this is likely to cause serious disruption to traffic. This includes Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. This practice has been followed since August 1993. On the other hand, for minor traffic offences committed in less busy areas, a more lenient approach is adopted with the drivers often first being given warnings.

Statistics on the total number of fixed penalty tickets issued for parking offences in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui have been provided to Members in the annex to the written version of my reply. The Police have not kept separate statistics on the numbers of fixed penalty tickets issued to the same vehicle, since such information is not required for operational reasons nor would such information be of any particular

use.

The likelihood of receiving a fixed penalty ticket does act as a deterrent to the majority of motorists and the Police are satisfied that the practice of issuing tickets without prior warning has been effective in helping to keep the traffic moving in the busiest and most congested districts.

Mr President, Honourable Members may wish to note that we intend to review the level of fixed penalty fines later this year, to determine whether they are sufficient to maintain the deterrent effect. In addition, we are now considering the extension of no-stopping restrictions, including banning goods vehicles from loading and unloading during the daytime in busy areas, as further measures aimed on maximising road capacity and maintaining a free flow of traffic.