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| Wearing seatbelts is optional for buses but required for all other motor vehicles |
Passengers of buses will no longer be prosecuted if they do not wear seatbelts, even if these are installed, the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) has announced.
Instead, it will be left to them to decide whether or not to
avail of the safety offered by the seatbelts, if they are available.
A provision in the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment)
(Amendment) Regulation 2025 that requires bus passengers to wear seatbelts,
will be repealed because of technical deficiencies in those legal provisions,
TLB explained.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The repeal will be done by publishing it as a subsidiary
legislation in the Gazette, Hong Kong’s official weekly publication for
promulgation of legislation, government notices and public appointments, it added.
“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,”
TLB said.
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| PINDUTIN DITO |
”… for the period leading up to the repeal of relevant
provisions, the Government will not enforce the provision,” it added.
The TLB emphasized, however, that “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.”
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
But while bus passengers have been excluded from the
requirement, “we will continue to enhance publicity and education efforts to
encourage the voluntary habit of wearing seat belts,” it added.
“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,” TLB said. “We
will further consult the Legislative Council after optimizing the arrangements,
and reintroducing them at an appropriate time.”
