Social Issues

Passengers ignore belt rule

Although the seat belt law has been in force, many passengers still do not buckle up in public light buses.

by Lucinda Ho

Many minibus passengers choose not to wear a seat belt even though they know buckling up will have a lower chance of getting hurt in any traffic accidents.

They also defy a law that has been in force since August 2004 requiring public light bus riders to fasten up seat belts.

“It doesn't feel good to buckle up early in the morning,” a 22-year-old passenger Ng Wai said.

Although Mr Ng said he was taking a risk of being fined and imprisoned, he still did not want to wear a safety belt. He also said even if the driver asked him to use the belt, he would not follow.

Police have so far issued 1,862 verbal warnings and 1,332 summonses to passengers who flouted the law.

Under the law, offenders face a maximum fine of $5,000 and three months' imprisonment.

Some passengers do not wear seat belts simply out of habit while others have no option. “I know there is a law and I also want to buckle up in the minibus, but the seat belt is usually too small for me to wear,” Mark Walters, 33, said.

Up to the end of January 2006, there were 1,733 public light buses equipped with seat belt facilities, according to the Transport Department. That was only 40 per cent of the total number of public light buses in Hong Kong .

To speed up the rate of seat belt installation, the Transport Department is liaising with the suppliers of public light buses. Yet, according to the department, there is no timetable for the liaison.

The department has issued stickers written “For Your Own Safety, Buckle Up on Public Light Buses” for minibus owners to urge passengers to follow the law.

Man Chun-fai, the first vice-chairman of the Public Light Bus General Association, said there were difficulties in asking passengers to buckle up, although the industry
welcomed the rule.

Mr Man said drivers tended to forget asking passengers who got on halfway to buckle up. Some drivers might consider that a waste of their time.

Public light bus drivers will not be held responsible if passengers do not wear seat belts under legislation. If passengers are not cooperative, drivers can stop the minibuses.

However, Mr Man argued: “Public light bus drivers, especially those of red minibuses, definitely will not do that.” Drivers have to care about their business, he explained.

Most red minibus drivers are not paid on a monthly salary basis.

They have to pay rent for minibuses, and the remaining earnings will be their income.

Ng Shek-yung, 62, has been a public light bus driver for almost 20 years. He said he did not ask passengers to wear seat belts. But, once he was checked up on by the police.

“When I drove near the Hung Hom KCR station, I saw a roadblock. So I immediately asked the passengers to wear their seat belts,” Mr Ng said.

“I passed the roadblock. The police stopped me and got on the minibus. All passengers had buckled up.”

Police will also take undercover operations to enforce the law.

Officers will pretend to be passengers and ride on a minibus for a while before identifying themselves and asking the driver to pull over for a check.

Another driver, a Mr Lo, said once two undercover policemen got on his minibus. “They pretended not to know each other. One of them took a front seat, and another sat in the back,” Mr Lo said.

There were about three passengers on the minibus and they did not wear seat belts. The officers showed their identities when the minibus went near the Hung Hom KCR station. “They jotted down the names of the passengers,” he said, “and the undercover policemen asked me why I didn't ask the passengers to buckle up.”

Minibus drivers are unhappy with the police practice. Mr Man said stopping a minibus to check the passengers were bad for the driver because that would waste the driver's time. He also said it was not necessary for police to take such operations. “I think drivers and passengers are just not used to the regulation.”

A colleague of Mr Lo, who declined to give his name, said it would be better if all public light buses were installed with seat belts and so passengers could develop a habit of wearing them.