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I was pleased to learn that the Transport Advisory Committee is finally starting the ball rolling to clear the legal hurdles to allow electric vehicles that meets certain conditions to travel on roads in Hong Kong ('Transport forum opens the way for electric cars', May 5). 
 In this congested, vertical  city roadside pollution is so serious Hong Kong is becoming Asia's  pollution hub.  
Cars running on  popular fossil fuel engines are  a major cause  of serious roadside pollution. 
That is why electric vehicles must be encouraged, so they can replace their fossil fuel counterparts  as soon as is practicable. 
 In this respect the government must be more proactive  and overhaul an outdated legal framework and provide policy incentives.  
 Even the private sector has shown more enthusiasm by building charging stations at parking facilities.  
 One of the outdated legal clauses is that  only vehicles with a  petrol tank are allowed on highways. This stops  electric vehicles  from using a good portion of the road system. 
 Another legal irony is the left- or right-hand drive issue. 
When the related clause was drafted many years ago,  a driver was required to extend his or her arm out of the window on the right-hand side of the car to signal the direction the car would be turning. But, nowadays, would any patrolling policeman ever stop a driver who signals its direction with flashing lights instead of with his or her arm? 
 It should be pointed out that if left-hand drive electric vehicles were allowed to be registered in Hong Kong under the  relevant road traffic legislation, electric vehicles would become   much more affordable here since the left-hand drive market is much bigger globally and so car manufacturers have a larger output in production terms.  
While left-hand drive restrictions apply, supply is limited for Hong Kong drivers. 
 Currently, Hong Kong has about 200 electric vehicles, most of which are used by the government. 
This is a tiny figure when you consider that there are more than  300,000 private cars on the road. 
The administration must add to its present fleet and provide more attractive policy incentives so more people buy electric models.  
Y. K. Kwan, Wan Chai



Change of law can encourage more drivers to opt for electric vehicles