The government will introduce a new, heavier penalty for drivers found, upon testing, to have excessively high blood-alcohol concentrations, with a view to further combatting drink-drive offenses in Hong Kong and enhancing road safety by amending the Road Traffic Ordinance.

The Executive Council has approved the drafted legislative proposal, a three-tier penalty scale, and will gazette the bill today before introducing it into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on May 12.

The three-tier penalty system contains a sliding rule, meaning that the higher the proportion of alcohol in excess of the prescribed limit, the longer the driving disqualification period.

The driving disqualification period for vehicular operators with blood alcohol level no more than 35 micrograms per 100 milliliters is six months on first conviction, while that for those between 36 and 66 micrograms is one year. The period will increase to two years if the level is above 66 micrograms.

The bill also proposes the introduction of a new offense of "causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving", providing for a heavier penalty for dangerously driving a motor vehicle on a road.

To strengthen the deterrent effect, the government also proposes a provision to require the court to order that the disqualification period should commence at the conclusion of the imprisonment sentence, unless the court thinks otherwise.

Lau Kong-wah, a member of the LegCo transport panel and also a member of the Executive Council said that the heavier penalties would prove an effective deterrent to drivers. As to whether they are tough enough, he preferred to wait and see how the revised law operates.

Andrew Cheng, vice-chairman of the transport panel, agreed with the overall direction of the legislative proposal. However, he said the penalties are not sufficiently severe and suggested those who commit a tier-3 offence on a second occasion should be barred from driving for life, because they would pose a significant threat to road safety if they would be allowed to drive again.

Since February 9, 2009, a number of measures curbing drink-driving went effect in Hong Kong: Police officers can require a person who is driving on a public road to conduct a breath test without the need for reasonable suspicion; people convicted of drink-driving are subject to a maximum fine of HK$25,000 and imprisonment for three years. There has been a significant drop of 67 percent in the number of traffic accidents involving drink-driving ever since, said a government spokesman.

China Daily

(HK Edition 04/30/2010 page1)