Editorial | Required seat belts on Hong Kong’s bus fleets are long overdue

Hong Kong has an array of rules to make our roads safer. They all make a difference, but accidents still happen. This is why seat belts matter. Data cited by the Transport Department credit them with reducing fatal and serious injuries by up to 40 per cent and 70 per cent respectively in traffic accidents.

The conversion has reached about 60 per cent, and passenger complaints so far – including that the restraints are ill-fitting for young children and prevent commuters from reaching “stop” buttons to alight – indicate it will take time for people to adapt. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu stood behind the move, saying it was necessary to protect lives and citing the “painful lesson” of the deadly Tai Po Road bus crash in 2018. He noted that similar laws had been implemented elsewhere, including the mainland, the United Kingdom and Australia.

The new law took some passengers by surprise, despite the pre-publicity, and some remained standing downstairs so they could alight quickly. Clearly, as the city’s two huge fleets press on with fitting belts to a total of about 3,500 franchised buses, there is a need for education and heightened awareness of the new rule.

So it is good to hear from Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan that the initial period of law enforcement by her bureau and police would focus on educating people, and from the police that their focus would be on promoting road safety so that commuters would get into the habit of wearing seat belts. Public cooperation is the essence of public transport safety. Reliance on a maximum fine of HK$5,000 and up to three months’ imprisonment for violation of the new law hopefully will be a last resort in further reducing the risk of serious injury and deaths in traffic accidents. After all, an efficient, reliable and above all safe public transport system is important to the city’s competitiveness.