Hong Kong's new regulation requiring passengers to wear seat belts on public buses took effect on Sunday, but a former lawmaker has accused a government press release of wrongly interpreting the law, sparking confusion over whether it applies to all buses. She called for authorities to clarify enforcement to avoid passengers unwittingly breaking the law.
The controversy over mandatory seat belts on Hong Kong's public buses has intensified. Doreen Kong Yuk-foon, a former lawmaker and member of the subcommittee that scrutinised the proposed legislative amendment last year, told the South China Morning Post on Friday that a government press release on January 8 failed to specify that the rule only applies to buses newly registered from January 25 this year.
Kong said the press release caused confusion by stating that passengers must wear seat belts regardless of whether the vehicles were newly registered, contradicting the law's clauses. Lawmakers reviewing the proposal last September were informed that the new rule would only cover vehicles registered on or after January 25.
"The press release was wrong in saying that 'drivers and passengers occupying the seats of these vehicles (whether newly registered or not), where seat belts are fitted, are required to wear them.' It obviously does not match the clauses [in the law]," Kong said. "People will have to ask those who wrote this press release why they did this. I do not understand."
The new Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) Regulations, effective from Sunday, mandate seat belts for passengers on public buses. The ambiguity has left passengers worried about enforcement, highlighting potential issues in legislative communication involving Principal Assistant Secretary for Transport and Logistics Cheng Sze-ling and Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.
