Control Traffic Accident in Hk

Traffic accident has been a serious issue in Hong Kong. From 1997 to 2006, over 14000 traffic accident cases have been reported each year. The number of cases remained at a high level. In 2006, 14849 cases happened causing 144 people died and 18729 people injured. Averaging 40 traffic accident cases take place per day. Traffic accident not only endangers human life but also causes traffic congestion. It brings inconvenience to people. Undoubtedly, it wastes the time of road users and also cause serious air pollution. So, the situation should be improved in order to protect the lives of road users.

A signification number of cases happen due to the fact that drivers break the traffic rules. For example, a lot of drives drive too close to the front cars. Also some drivers turn vehicles to another lane improperly. For the extreme cases, some drivers participate in car racing illegally or drink driving. Moreover, many passengers ignore the safety rule and refuse to wear seat belts. In case of accident, they can’t be protected and probably get wounded or even die.

Pedestrians are also responsible for the signification number of accident cases. Many people cross a road illegally and dangerously such as crossing the road without any crossing facilities or crossing signal. They ignore the safety rules for convenience. It is probably that pedestrians suffer form injure or death in case that they break the traffic rules because the traffic in Hong Kong is very busy. The traffic flow is very high. Many cars are traveling on the road anytime. It is dangerous for pedestrians to cross a road without using any safety facilities. Many pedestrians are not conscious the importance of road safety and the consequences of breaking traffic rules.

Obviously, this above driving negligence is avoidable. One of the ways to reduce traffic accident is to increase the penalty. If drivers follow the traffic guidance strictly, the number of cases is likely to reduce. It is necessary to reinforce the regulations and fine the involving drivers heavily. It can bring deterrent effect to ensure drivers comply with the rules. Meanwhile, the penalty for the passengers who refuse to wear seat beats should also increase. The seat belt legislation was passed through and affected on 1 April, 2004. Public light bus passengers are required to wear seat belts. Still, it is observed that majority of passengers on light bus do not comply with the ordinance. When traffic accident happen, passengers are easily wounded and even die. Many survey proved that seat belts can reduce can protect passengers and lower the seriousness of accident effectively. The level of injure of passengers can reduce in case of accident. So, the government and police should ensure the ordinance is followed by passengers. The government can increase the penalty for the passengers who refuse to wear seat belts. It can bring deterrent effect to let passengers follow the rules. Also the police should enforce this ordinance strictly. More traffic cops can be distributed to main road to make sure the light bus passengers comply with the ordinance. Although it may not reduce the number of cases, it probably reduces the seriousness of accident when the ordinance is followed.

Another way to improve the problem is to adopt a strict licencing process by the Transport Department. A survey