Hong Kong needs independent transport safety board
David Newbery calls for an independent agency to investigate transport accidents and the chain of events that led to them, with the focus on preventing tragedy, not apportioning blame
Lawmakers are currently investigating the tragic bus accident in Shau Kei Wan. Meanwhile, the fatal Lamma ferry collision on National Day is being investigated by a commission of inquiry.
Yet there is an understandable mistrust of government departments overseeing major transport accident investigations in their own jurisdiction, as is usually the case here. Therefore, it's time for Hong Kong to set up an independent transport safety board to investigate accidents and monitor safety in the maritime, aviation, rail and road transport industries.
The airline industry, through its controlling body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, is acknowledged as the leader in safety management systems and accident investigation in the transport industry. The organisation recommends establishing "an independent accident and incident investigation process, the sole objective of which is the prevention of accidents and incidents, and not the apportioning of blame or liability".
Further, it notes that many governments (such as Hong Kong) allow the regulatory authority to conduct accident investigations, and says that "this practice raises a potential conflict of interest whereby the investigators may be required to report on shortcomings in the state's safety oversight performance (perhaps even their own performance as regulators)".
The purpose of an investigation should be to find out what happened, identify the causal factors, and suggest remedial measures to prevent a similar accident occurring. The focus is on preventing future accidents, not apportioning blame; liability should be the subject of a separate legal investigation, subordinate to the main accident investigation.
This separation of the accident investigation and legal processes is important - witnesses to an accident, particularly if they are directly involved, must be free to speak openly to an accident investigator without the fear that any statement might be used in a civil or criminal investigation. Of course, if criminal negligence is a factor in an accident, the person responsible must be subject to the full weight of the law.
However, an overconcentration on litigation, and the public demand for someone to be held to blame and punished, can often get in the way of a proper investigation. There will always be strident calls for someone to be held accountable for any accident or mishap; however, public interest is best served by concentrating on what is usually a chain of events with many links, rather than trying to find a single cause and a single person to blame.