1 week Ago By SCMP Editorial
Increases in road traffic fines can lead to claims of revenue-raising. A plan to raise fines for driving and parking offences does coincide with a strategy to boost revenue amid a huge budget deficit. But it is easily defended as an overdue revision of penalties that have not been raised for three decades.
There is a need to address “a persistent and even increasing trend in dangerous driving behaviours like speeding, running red lights, ignoring road markings, crossing double white lines and using mobile phones while driving,” a Transport and Logistics Bureau spokesman said in a social media posting. The government also wants to raise the fixed HK$320 (US$41) penalty for illegal parking to HK$400, while fines for speeding and other more severe traffic offences will rise by about 50 per cent to enhance their deterrent effect, according to proposals expected to be discussed by the Legislative Council’s transport panel. The Transport and Logistics Bureau says it is essential to reinforce road safety and improve traffic management.
Fatal traffic accidents in the first quarter of this year surged by 40 per cent compared with last year, and illegal parking remained consistently high. Amid the business uncertainty created by America’s trade war, this may not be the ideal time for a bigger rise in parking fines for commercial vehicles, especially considering the shortage of parking spaces in many areas..
