Effective transport management is essential for the orderly and safe operation of the transport system. The Government's regulatory powers are provided under the Road Traffic Ordinance. Every effort is made to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of transport management through the use of modern technology in various areas elaborated below.

Licensing

By year-end, Hong Kong had 525 551 licensed and government vehicles and 1 690 221 licensed drivers. There were 340 855 licensed private cars and 111 025 licensed goods vehicles, of which 69 132 were light goods vehicles. During the year, 30 417 new private cars and 5 362 new goods vehicles were registered. The average number of new learner-drivers was 4 635 per month.

    Since the introduction of the Driving Offence Points System in 1984, 65 742 disqualifications have been ordered by the courts and 613 293 notices served under the Road Traffic (Driving Offence Points) Ordinance. The figures for 2002 were 2 382 and 31 229, respectively. Over the past five years, 444 237 drivers have incurred Driving Offence Points for committing scheduled offences under the Driving Offence Points System.

Driver Improvement Scheme

To further promote road safety, the Government launched the Driver Improvement Scheme in September. The scheme allows drivers to attend to their problematic driving attitude and behaviour and to rectify them through training courses. Four driving improvement schools were designated to provide driving improvement courses. Having regard to overseas experience, the Government has adopted a two-pronged approach to:

    A driver will have three driving-offence points deducted from his/her total driving-offence points already incurred, subject to satisfactory completion of the course.

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 2002, 199 247 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 149 614 vehicle examinations in 2002. Besides this, 3 489 spot checks were conducted on franchised buses to ensure their safety, roadworthiness and service standards.

    New vehicle models imported into Hong Kong are required to undergo type approval to ensure their compliance with the regulations. In 2002, 509 vehicle types were processed and approved.

    Booking of examination appointments on the Internet has been extended to include trailers, and electronic payment is now possible over-the-counter at all vehicle examination centres, providing additional convenience for the user. Computerised appointment systems are also being planned at the designated car testing centres, facilitating the reporting and monitoring processes.

Traffic Control and Surveillance

The use of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras for monitoring traffic conditions on major highways has proved successful, providing real-time traffic information to government departments to monitor traffic and allowing them to react quickly in case of traffic disruption or emergency. A total of 48 CCTV cameras are operating along Tuen Mun Road, West Kowloon Highway and North Lantau Highway and along roads leading to boundary crossings and to the River Trade Terminal in Tuen Mun.

    In June, the Transport Department commenced the design and construction of a Traffic Control Centre (TCC) for completion by early 2004. The TCC will accommodate Area Traffic Control (ATC) systems in the new towns, the Emergency Transport Coordination Centre (ETCC) and the monitoring system of the Tsing Ma Communication Centre (TMCC) to facilitate traffic management, incident management and dissemination of information.

    A programme for extending the traffic control and surveillance systems is being implemented to improve traffic management in the urban areas and the new towns. At year-end, there were 1 647 signalised junctions, of which 1 140 were under the control of ATC systems.

    Construction work for expansion of the ATC and CCTV systems to Tai Po and North District commenced in mid-2002 for completion in early 2004. This expansion will cover 122 junctions, with 30 CCTV cameras.

    Review and design of the renewal and expansion works of the ATC and CCTV systems on Hong Kong Island commenced early in the year, and the installation works will be completed by the end of 2005.

Use of Information Technology in Transport

Reliable and comprehensive transport information enables commuters to make informed choices of routes and modes of transport resulting in more efficient use of road space, smoother traffic flow, enhanced road safety and improved accessibility.

    Development of the Transport Information System (TIS) is in progress. Upon completion, the TIS will become a central data warehouse of transport information which will enhance the operations of the Transport Department as well as other departments. It will also facilitate the development of various services by the private sector such as car navigation and fleet management. The system is scheduled for commissioning in phases in early 2004.

    For the Journey Time Indication System (JTIS), journey time indicators will be provided along the approach roads to the three cross-harbour tunnels on Hong Kong Island to inform motorists of the estimated travel time to the Kowloon exits, so that they may make a more informed choice of route. The system is scheduled for operation by mid-2003.

Automatic Toll Collection

Automatic toll collection systems (autotoll systems) were installed at the Cross-Harbour and Aberdeen Tunnels in August 1993, Lion Rock Tunnel in August 1994, Eastern Harbour Crossing in September 1995, Tate's Cairn Tunnel in May 1996, Western Harbour Crossing in April 1997, Shing Mun Tunnels and Tseung Kwan O Tunnel in October 1997, Tai Lam Tunnel in June 1998 and Lantau Link in July 1998. They allow motorists to drive through designated toll booths without stopping to pay toll. Since October 1998, the autotoll systems have been unified so that a subscriber needs only one tag to use all tunnels and toll roads fitted with the system. In 2002, about 49 per cent of motorists used autotoll when passing through the tunnels and toll roads.

Parking

The management and operation of on-street metered parking spaces is contracted out to a private operator. On-street parking is provided where traffic conditions permit. At year-end, Hong Kong had about 17 800 metered parking spaces, with electronic parking meter charging in operation mainly between 8 am and midnight from Mondays to Saturdays and 10 am to 10 pm during Sundays and public holidays.

    The Government owns 13 multi-storey carparks which provide about 7 300 parking spaces. They are operated and managed by two private operators under management contracts with the Government.

    Off-street public parking is provided by the Airport Authority at the airport at Chek Lap Kok, the Housing Department in its housing estates, at the Hong Kong, Kowloon and Tsing Yi stations of the Airport Express and at the KCRC terminus in Hung Hom. Private sector multi-storey and open-air public carparks in commercial/residential buildings and open-air lots provide more than 184 000 parking spaces.

Road Safety

In 2002, there were 15 576 traffic accidents that resulted in casualties, including 162 fatal accidents and 3 118 involving serious injury. The number represented an overall decrease of 0.35 per cent compared with the 15 631 accidents in 2001 (167 fatal and 3 165 involving serious injury).

    In-depth investigations were carried out at 151 traffic accident 'black sites' to identify common accident causes. Remedial measures were recommended at 121 of these locations.

    By year-end, 51 red light camera systems were installed at signalised road junctions to deter motorists from disobeying traffic signals and 22 speed enforcement camera systems were installed on major expressways to deter potentially dangerous speeding. Expansion of these camera systems is in progress and by mid-2003 a total of 111 red light and 85 speed enforcement camera systems will be in operation.

    During the year, a series of legislative measures were implemented to improve road safety. These included proper use of vehicle headlamps and hazard warning lights, introduction of the Driver Improvement Scheme and the extension of the rear seat belt requirement to Public Light Buses.

    Road safety campaigns continued to play an important role in reducing traffic accidents. The main theme chosen for campaigns in 2002 was 'Smart Driver, Bright Pedestrian'. The message was conveyed through television and radio announcements, printed materials and on the Internet.