Announcement on Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 2025
The Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) announced today (January 30) that it noted public discussions on the scope of application of the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 2025. Having consulted the Department of Justice, it is considered that there are technical deficiencies in those legal provisions which state the requirement on passengers to wear seat belts on franchised and non-franchised buses. Those provisions do not fully reflect the legislative intent, which is to extend the statutory requirement for the wearing of seat belts to all vehicle seats, thereby providing better protection for passengers.
The TLB will promptly repeal the relevant provisions (i.e., Section 8D and related provisions (if applicable)) of the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) Regulations (Chapter 374F)by way of publishing in the Gazette as subsidiary legislation. Upon repealing, there will be no statutory requirement for passengers to wear seat belts on franchised or non-franchised buses; for the period leading up to the repeal of relevant provisions, the Government will not enforce the provision. The statutory requirement for the wearing of seat belts on other types of vehicles (including private cars, taxis, goods vehicles, light buses, special purpose vehicles, student service vehicles) will remain in effect.
As the next step, we will gather opinions from various stakeholders, and consider how best to ensure road safety while addressing the concerns raised during the implementation of new requirements. We will further consult the Legislative Council after optimising the arrangements, and reintroducing them at an appropriate time. Meanwhile, we will continue to enhance publicity and education efforts to encourage the voluntary habit of wearing seat belts.
Source: AI-found images
Building Department elaborates media report about scaffold nets
Regarding a media report today (January 30) that there were scaffold nets found not up to standards after installation, the Buildings Department (BD) made the following factual elaboration:
The report claimed that there was a case in which sampling tests had been conducted in accordance with the BD's requirements promulgated in December last year, obtained a test report with results met the fire retardant performance standards, and installed the nets on scaffolding. However, after installation, an audit check by the BD revealed that the scaffold nets did not meet the required standards, and removal was required. The BD said that there was no such case to date. As the BD has only recently started receiving notifications on completion of scaffold net installation, random testing of installed scaffold nets has just commenced. So far, samples have been collected from three cases that have completed nets installation (not involving the scaffold nets procured collectively by the Construction Industry Council (CIC)) and have been or will shortly be sent to the Government Laboratory for testing. Test results are not yet available.
Regarding the implementation of such mechanism since its commencement, the BD provided the following supplementary information:
Under the one-off special collective bulk procurement of scaffold nets provided by the CIC, the CIC would conduct testing in accordance with the requirements set out in Practice Note for Registered Contractors 85 (PNRC 85) promulgated by the BD. The CIC would only distribute scaffold nets to contractors after obtaining the test results that met the fire retardant performance standards. All test reports for the bulk procurement of scaffold nets currently submitted by the CIC showed satisfactory results, and the BD will later conduct sampling tests on scaffold nets that have been installed.
Regarding the scaffold nets that were not procured through the CIC, the BD, through its monitoring mechanism, found two cases in which the registered contractors were found to be non-compliant with the requirements set out in PNRC 85. In one case, the contractor had installed scaffold nets prior to obtaining a test report confirming compliance (involving repair works in an existing building). In another case, the contractor installed a batch of scaffold nets with test reports failing to meet the standards (involving a construction site ofnew building). The BD had immediately ordered the contractors concerned to remove the scaffold nets and is investigating the irregularities. The BD will take punitive action against the parties involved in accordance with the investigation results.
The BD reiterated that it will continue to exercise stringent gate-keeping. The BD will vigilantly enforce the new sampling and testing mechanism for scaffold nets through the tracking and testing requirements and procedures stipulated in PNRC 85, as well as its own sampling and testing mechanism.
Source: AI-found images
