ENG-2005 — Page 312

266 Transport

Licensing

At the end of 2005, there were 1 782 702 licensed drivers, 534 246 licensed private vehicles and 6 394 government vehicles. There were 350 753 licensed private cars, of which 27 032 were new vehicles registered during the year. Registered goods vehicles totalled 121 816, of which 75 522 were light goods vehicles, 42 794 were medium goods vehicles and 3 500 were heavy goods vehicles. On average, there were 3 890 new learner-drivers per month.

Since the introduction of the Driving-offence Points System in August 1984, 74 549 disqualifications have been ordered by the courts and 734 103 notices served under the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) Ordinance. The figures for 2005 were 2 948 and 44 574 respectively. Over the past five years, 474 005 drivers have incurred Driving-offence points for committing scheduled offences under the Driving-offence Points System.

Driver Improvement Scheme

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 completed the driving improvement course and obtained a course certificate issued by a driving improvement school has three driving-offence points deducted from his or her total driving-offence points.

From September 2002 to December 2005, nearly 6 300 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. Six months after the course, about 76 per cent of participants had not incurred any new driving-offence points.

Computerisation of the Written Part of Driving Test

The Transport Department computerised the written part of the driving test in October 2003 to provide better customer service and streamline the testing process, which assesses a candidate's knowledge of the Road Users' Code. Candidates know their test results as soon as they have completed the written test, and successful applicants can then make appointments for road tests within 15 minutes. Since the computerisation of the written test service led to more efficient use of resources, the department merged its two driving test appointment offices in July 2004. The average waiting time for taking the written test was shortened from 40 days in 2002 to 25 days in 2005.

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 2005, 197 000 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 22 designated car