LCQ13: Manpower and driving safety of professional drivers 
19.4.2023

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Johnny Ng and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, in the Legislative Council today (April 19): Question: âIt has been reported that incidents of traffic accidents involving professional drivers that result in heavy casualties occur from time to time, and a serious traffic accident occurred recently, with the 84-year-old taxi driver involved being arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving. Regarding the manpower and driving safety of professional drivers, will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the current numbers of professional drivers of various classes of vehicles in the territory; the number of traffic accidents involving professional drivers and their casualties in each month of the past three years, with a breakdown by class of vehicles, the age group to which the drivers involved belonged and the casualty situation; whether the authorities have compiled statistics on and analysed which classes of vehicles and age groups of professional drivers have been involved in greater numbers of traffic accidents and casualties, and whether such numbers have been on an increasing trend; (2) as there are views that although drivers having reached the age of 70 are required under the existing legislation to provide the Transport Department a Medical Examination Certificate issued by a registered medical practitioner before they can renew their driving licences for a validity period of one year or three years, professional drivers of any ages have the chance of contracting diseases or suffering from hidden diseases, and thus professional drivers of any ages should undergo regular health checks, whether the Government will consider reviewing the health check mechanism for professional drivers, stepping up the health requirements for professional drivers, and setting an upper age limit for professional drivers; (3) as there are views that long working hours and lack of room for development of professional drivers have discouraged young people from joining the trade, resulting in a serious succession problem in the trade, whether the authorities will introduce short-term measures to relieve the manpower shortage problem of professional drivers (e.g. importing foreign drivers and providing them with appropriate training); and (4) as it is learnt that autonomous public transport modes such as autonomous driving systems (ADSs) and intelligent connected vehicles have been in use on the Mainland and in foreign countries, whether the Government will improve the relevant laws and regulations to expedite the implementation of the adoption of ADSs in Hong Kong, so as to relieve the problem of manpower shortage of professional drivers and enhance traffic safety? Reply: President, âThe Government has all along been attaching great importance and attention to road safety. Apart from protecting road users, including professional drivers, through regulation by laws, the Government also promotes the safety awareness of road users and disseminates the message of safe driving among drivers through publicity and educational efforts. In consultation with the Transport Department (TD), my reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Johnny Ng is as follows: (1) There is no definition of professional drivers in the existing legislation. For the purpose of classifying driving licences, taxis, private light buses and public light buses, private buses and public buses, franchised buses, medium goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, articulated vehicles and special purpose vehicles are generally regarded as commercial vehicles; and the drivers of these classes of vehicles are generally classified as professional drivers. As at end-February 2023, the number of valid full driving licence holders by class of commercial vehicles is tabulated below. Since a driving licence may have endorsements of more than one class of vehicles, the sum of the relevant statistics is greater than the total number of driving licence holders of commercial vehicles. Vehicle class Number of valid full driving licence holders Taxi 204 431 Private light bus 177 601 Public light bus 166 588 Private bus 138 408 Public bus 136 825 Franchised bus 26 162 Medium goods vehicle 183 517 Heavy goods vehicle 91 030 Articulated vehicle 43 038 Special purpose vehicle 17 227 Regarding the figures on traffic accidents and casualties, the Government has all along compiled and analysed statistics on the numbers of traffic accidents and casualties involving professional drivers of different classes of vehicles and age groups. The table below sets out the monthly average numbers of traffic accidents and casualties by class of commercial vehicles and age of drivers in the past three years. As indicated by data analysis, such numbers do not show a noticeable increasing trend. Monthly average numbers of traffic accidents and casualties between 2020 and 2022 Vehicle class Age of drivers concerned Monthly average number of accidents Monthly average number of casualties Slightly injured Seriously injured Killed 2020 2021 2022 2020 2021 2022 2020 2021 2022 2020 2021 2022 Taxi <20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20-39 27 33 31 33 43 41 3 1 1 0 0 0 40-59 139 167 135 171 208 174 13 14 7 0 1 0 &ge;60 134 164 152 156 198 188 16 15 10 1 1 0 Private light bus <20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20-39 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 40-59 2 3 3 3 3 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 &ge;60 1 4 2 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 Public light bus <20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20-39 2 2 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 40-59 17 18 13 22 21 16 3 2 1 0 0 0 &ge;60 35 42 40 41 51 52 5 4 4 1 0 1 Private bus <20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20-39 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 40-59 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 &ge;60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Public bus (including franchised bus) <20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20-39 30 31 25 34 40 31 2 2 2 0 0 0 40-59 86 91 74 94 105 87 10 9 4 0 0 1 &ge;60 23 29 27 25 33 33 3 3 2 0 0 0 Medium goods vehicle and heavy goods vehicle (including articulated vehicle) <20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20-39 20 21 15 24 25 21 3 2 1 0 1 0 40-59 41 52 45 45 61 51 5 5 5 1 1 1 &ge;60 19 23 22 20 28 25 3 3 3 0 0 1 Special purpose vehicle <20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20-39 2 2 1 3 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 40-59 3 3 2 3 3 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 &ge;60 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 (2) The Road Traffic (Driving Licences) Regulations (Cap. 374B) (the Regulations) stipulate that any person aged 70 or above who applies for a full driving licence of any class of vehicle shall produce a medical examination certificate completed and signed by a registered medical practitioner who is acceptable to the Commissioner for Transport on a date not earlier than four months before the application to prove that the applicant is medically fit to drive and control that particular class of vehicle. Under the prevailing requirements, the medical examination certificate must be completed by a registered medical practitioner. The form lists out areas which the registered medical practitioner may have to consider during the medical examination conducted for the applicant. Such areas include eyesight, mental state, skeletal and muscular system, balance and co-ordination, hearing and other aspects. The registered medical practitioner should also exercise his professional judgment to conduct any other test which he thinks appropriate and include whatever test on the applicant as necessary in order to obtain adequate information to facilitate his completion of the conclusion of the report. The Government has all along been concerned about the physical fitness of drivers and understands that the physical condition of drivers is important for ensuring the safety of road users. Physical fitness requirements of drivers and related issues are also kept under review. The TD has set up an expert panel in June last year to further review the diseases or physical disabilities specified in the Regulations, the existing content of the medical examination certificate and the arrangements of the physical fitness examination of the drivers etc., as well as to provide professional advice on relevant matters. As the content of the review involves professional medical knowledge, the TD has also engaged a consultant team from the School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong to help the TD consolidate the professional advice offered by the expert panel and the healthcare sector from medical perspective, conduct in-depth studies and offer support to the conduct of the consultation and legislative amendment work. âThe Government and the expert panel members have reached a consensus in general on the key recommendations, and are now consolidating and finalising the details and arrangement of some of the recommendations. We expect to launch the consultation by the middle of this year, including consulting the Panel on Transport of the Legislative Council (LegCo). Other stakeholders including the Transport Advisory Committee, the Road Safety Council and relevant trades will be subsequently consulted to seek their views about the feasibility of the recommendations and the impact on the trades, etc., with a view to finalising the review results and specific implementation details as soon as practicable. (3) The Government has all along been keeping in view the manpower shortage and ageing situation of drivers in the transport industry. As regards local public transport trades, the Transport and Logistics Bureau is actively reviewing the latest manpower situation in relevant trades and considering various measures to drive sustainable manpower development in these trades, with a view to putting up initial proposals by the middle of this year and formulating relevant measures. Meanwhile, we have always been communicating with stakeholders to actively consider and implement various measures that help the trade cope with the operating pressure. These measures include relaxing the requirements for applying for commercial vehicle driving licences (including public light buses, buses and taxis) and enhancing the taxi written test, as well as encouraging the operators to create a better working environment by improving staff welfare (e.g. increasing wages and paid leave) with a view to attracting more newcomers to join the trades. (4) With the advantages of eliminating human errors, improving road safety and enhancing transport efficiency, autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies will also help relieve the shortage of professional drivers in the long run. Various road tests are being conducted worldwide to promote the application of AV technologies. Promoting the development of AVs is integral to the implementation of Smart Mobility initiatives in Hong Kong. Since 2017, the TD has been issuing movement permits to facilitate the conduct of AV trials on certain roads by the trade. In parallel, the Government introduced the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Autonomous Vehicles) Bill 2022 into the LegCo in December last year for a wider trial and use of AVs in Hong Kong. Subject to LegCo's approval of the bill, the Government will further formulate new subsidiary legislation for the regulation of AVs and a new Code of Practice for AVs to allow the pilot use of AVs at more locations. We aim to complete the relevant legislative work within this year. The TD has also been maintaining liaison with the trade to prepare for the implementation of a new regulatory regime on AVs.