Hong Kong leader urges patience amid pushback against mandatory seat belts on buses
John Lee says residents must ‘take responsibility’ for their safety, despite complaints about inconvenience and poor quality of restraints
Hong Kong’s leader has called for the public to recognise that seat belt rules are widely implemented in other jurisdictions, following complaints about the new mandatory policy on buses, with passengers lamenting that the restraints are ill-fitting for young children and prevent commuters from reaching “stop” buttons to alight.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday the new regulation was a necessary step to protect lives, citing the “painful lesson” of the 2018 Tai Po Road bus crash that claimed 19 lives.
“We must all recognise the facts and accept the responsibility of wearing seat belts on public transport,” Lee said ahead of his weekly Executive Council meeting, noting that similar laws had been implemented in mainland China, the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore.
Singapore does not mandate seat belts on public buses but does so for smaller private-hire buses.
Under Hong Kong’s new rule, all passengers travelling on public or private buses – including franchised and school services – must wear a seat belt whenever one is available.
The mandate also applies to the rear seats of private light buses and goods vehicles, as well as to all seats in special-purpose vehicles such as mobile cranes or street-cleaning trucks, provided they are first registered on or after January 25.