ENG-1976 — Page 171

PUBLIC ORDER

Traffic

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Motor vehicle registrations at the end of the year totalled 191,746, giving a traffic density of nearly 283 vehicles for each of the 678 miles of road in the territory. Although the opening in May of a new route to Kwun Tong helped ease congestion in eastern Kowloon, the overall traffic situation was aggravated to some degree by the introduction of major diversions to allow for work on the mass transit railway.

Under the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance, selective action was continued against obstruction on main roads and indiscriminate roadside parking and stopping, particularly in areas affected by work on the underground railway. There were 589,678 fixed penalty tickets issued-22.3 per cent more than in the previous year. Action taken to recover unpaid fixed penalty debts resulted in the seizure of 53 vehicles, of which 50 were subsequently auctioned to meet the outstand- ing debts.

The Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance was introduced towards the end of the year in an effort to strengthen and expedite traffic law enforcement and to improve driving standards. Under the ordinance, police officers can issue fixed penalty tickets for fines ranging from $50 to $200 to motorists who commit any of the 74 offences listed. The procedure for paying these fixed fines is the same as for an ordinary parking ticket, so eliminating the time-consuming summons and court hearing system previously in use. The new fixed penalty scheme is being implemented in stages and is expected to become fully operational by the end of 1977.

The Standing Conference on Road Safety continued to co-ordinate road safety activities, which included a one-month campaign in September built around the slogan 'One Accident Can Kill'. The campaign was aimed at three accident-prone groups ---public light bus drivers, elderly people and weekend cyclists.

The Traffic Warden Corps, made up of 143 men and women, provides valuable assistance to the police. In addition to performing traffic control duties in busy areas throughout the year, the wardens issued 228,546 fixed penalty tickets-38.8 per cent of the overall total issued.

Marine Police

The Marine District police maintain law and order in the main ports and 720 square miles of water within the 120-mile territorial boundary as well as policing 243 islands and isolated communities. Greater demands were placed on the marine police during 1976 as an increase in the number of privately-owned pleasure boats and improved ferry services brought previously inaccessible parts of the territory within the reach of more people.

The Marine District has an establishment of 1,343 officers and a fleet of 47 launches. In addition to routine patrol work, the launches made 338 casualty evacua- tions from outlying islands to hospitals in the urban area during the year. There were 79 illegal immigrants arrested and processed by the marine CID compared with 120 in 1975.