ENG-2004 — Page 329

Transport 279

under the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) Ordinance. The figures for 2004 were 2 867 and 40 691 respectively. Over the past five years, 447 459 drivers have incurred Driving-offence Points for committing scheduled offences under the Driving-offence Points System.

Driver Improvement Scheme

In the past, focus was placed on tightening legislation and increasing penalties as a means of rectifying problematic driving behaviour. To complement the punitive approach, the Government launched the Driver Improvement Scheme in September 2002. The objective of the scheme is to promote road safety through the improvement of the participants' driving attitude and behaviour and reminding them. of the requirement to comply with traffic regulations. Drivers can join the driving improvement course voluntarily and the court is empowered to direct a driver who has committed any scheduled offence with five or more driving-offence points under the Road Traffic (Driving-Offence Points) Ordinance to attend the driving improvement course. A driver who has satisfactorily

A driver who has satisfactorily completed the driving. improvement course and obtained a course certificate issued by a driving improvement school has three driving-offence points deducted from his total driving- offence points already incurred.

From September 2002 to December 2004, nearly 4 140 drivers attended the driving improvement course. The feedback from the course participants was encouraging and positive. They found the course very useful in improving their driving behaviour and attitude. Statistics also showed that about 78 per cent of the participants did not incur new driving-offence points within six months of the completion of the course, reflecting its usefulness.

Computerisation of the Written Part of Driving Test

To provide better customer service and to streamline the written test process, which aims to assess whether a candidate is familiar with the Road Users' Code, the Transport Department computerised the written test in October 2003. The computerised service is user-friendly. Candidates will know their test results as soon as they have completed the written test, and successful applicants will be able to make appointments for road tests within 15 minutes. As the computerisation of the written test service has led to more efficient use of resources, the Transport Department merged its two driving test appointment offices in July. The average waiting time for taking the written test has been shortened from 40 days in 2002 to 30 days in 2003, then to 20 days in 2004.

Vehicle Examination

Vehicles are examined to ensure that they are roadworthy and properly maintained. Compulsory annual inspection applies to all public service vehicles, goods. vehicles and trailers. In 2004, 198 000 vehicles were examined at the four government vehicle examination centres. Private cars over six years old and light goods vehicles not exceeding 1.9 tonnes are inspected annually at 23 designated car testing centres operated by the private sector. These centres conducted 172 000