The Government plans to resubmit the motion to raise the penalties for red light jumping to the Legislative Council in July. The new penalties, which will take effect on January 1, 2006, include raising the driving-offence points from three to five and the fixed penalty from $450 to $600.

The proposal is widely supported by the public. However, there are concerns among some professional drivers, which is understandable. Let me explain in detail why we think it is necessary to raise the penalties for red light jumping, as well as the support measures that we will put in place to improve driving conditions and the objectivity of prosecutions.

Serious offence 

Red light jumping is a very serious offence that can bring about grave consequences. It endangers not only the driver and passengers of the vehicle, but also other road users, especially vulnerable pedestrians whose lives are at great risk in car crashes.

The number of prosecutions against red light jumping has increased from 22,590 in 2003 to 39,376 in 2004. At present, an average of 100 red light jumping offences are caught each day, and there is a daily average of two casualties arising from red light jumping accidents.

I wish to emphasise that the proposal to raise penalties is not directed against professional drivers, as I believe most of them are law-abiding citizens. In fact, better road safety ensures that professional drivers who are always on the road can work in a safer environment.

In formulating the policy, we have carefully considered the proposals and conducted many rounds of consultations to gather views from different sectors of the community, including the transport trade.

Besides, we do not rely solely on raising penalties to tackle the problem. Instead, we have developed a basket of support measures and a package of strategies to combat red light jumping in protecting the safety of road users.

Electronic prosecution

Professional drivers have expressed their concern about the grey area associated with red/amber light jumping in cases where prosecutions are carried out by police officers. We have therefore decided to increase substantially the number of red-light cameras from 28 to 96 so as to cover all the red light jumping blackspots.

As a result, the proportion of "electronic prosecution", which currently stands at 80% of all red light jumping prosecutions, will be increased to over 97% after all the cameras have been installed. In other words, most of the prosecutions in the future will be based on evidence produced by the cameras so as to minimise disputes.

The transport trade has also suggested installing more overhead traffic lights. We agree with this idea and have begun to install overhead traffic lights at 40 wider junctions to improve the visibility of traffic signals. We welcome suggestions on other suitable locations.

In addition, as speeding vehicles are more likely to jump red lights, we have required all public light buses to be fitted with speed display devices. Passengers will then be able to monitor their speed.

Stepped up publicity 

Publicity and education is also a key focus of our work. The theme of our road safety campaign in 2005-06 will be "Don't Jump Red Lights" and specific resources have been set aside to accomplish this task.

At the same time, the Police will step up their enforcement actions. If passengers witness any red light jumping behaviour, they may report to the Police.

The transport trade's suggestion to install vehicular countdown devices or flashing green systems requires careful consideration. We understand that the countdown devices and flashing green systems are not compatible with the computerised traffic signal system in Hong Kong.

Besides, some advanced cities have carried out extensive studies on the hesitation period during signal changes and these studies are supported by abundant empirical evidence. Studies and trials conducted overseas, such as in the UK, Australia, Israel and Austria found that such devices would significantly increase the risk of head-rear collision because drivers react differently to such devices. Some would rush through the junction while others would stop when the flashing green/countdown began.

Golden rule

The conclusion of these studies is that the most effective way to reduce accidents is simply to give drivers no choice and minimise the duration of hesitation. The golden rule is "slow down and be prepared to stop" when approaching junctions. We therefore need to further examine the suggestion to ensure that any new measures introduced will be effective in enhancing road safety.

We believe the proposed measures can raise the safety awareness of drivers and enhance enforcement efficiency. However, at the same time, we need to raise penalties to create a stronger deterrent effect. We believe raising the penalties for red light jumping has wide public support.

According to the opinion poll conducted by the University of Hong Kong, 79% of the respondents agreed to increase the driving-offence points for red light jumping, and the majority supported raising it from 3 to 5. In addition, 72% of the respondents supported increasing the fine to $600. Opinion polls conducted by other organisations have yielded similar results.

Better operating environment 

The growing number of serious traffic accidents caused by red light jumping in recent years has resulted in a marked increase in the insurance premium for many types of commercial vehicles. For example, the premium for red and green minibuses in 2004 have increased by 54% and 37% when compared with those in 2003. This imposes extra burden on the trade.

With the above measures, the Government seeks to deter red-light jumpers who show no respect for others' safety. This will reduce accident rates and in turn help lower the trade's insurance premiums and improve its operating environment.

Road safety starts from you. Through the aforesaid package of measures covering legislation, enforcement, technology application, publicity and education, we hope to combat red light jumping and protect law-abiding road users. In fact, professional drivers are the most frequent road users, and enhancing road safety will definitely be in the best interests of law-abiding professional drivers.

Therefore, we sincerely hope that the community, professional drivers, the media and Legislative Councillors will support the above measures to enhance road safety.

This is an open letter to the public posted on the Environment, Transport & Works Bureau website.