He attributed this trend to the Force's constant review of STEP in the light of the prevailing trends of traffic accidents and offences.

"Each year Traffic Branch Headquarters, in consultation with all Regional Traffic Formations, taking the prevailing overall situation on the road into account, reviews STEP and formulates new policies with regard to law enforcement, policing initiatives, deployment of resources, as well as public education and publicity on road safety. With the endorsement of the senior management, new policies, initiatives and priorities for each year are implemented at Headquarters, Regional, District and Divisional levels," he noted.

Legislative amendments

Coupled with the STEP review, Mr Yuen continued, Traffic Branch Headquarters worked closely with the then Environment, Transport and Works Bureau (now the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB)) and Transport Department (TD) to review existing legislation with a view to tackling serious offences more effectively and making the roads safer for all road users. As a result of a recent review on road safety measures, it plans to introduce some legislative amendments to the Legislative Council by the end of this year. Chief amongst these proposed amendments are an increase in the maximum sentence for Dangerous Driving Causing Death from five to 10 years and empowering the Police to carry out random breath tests at roadside.

Enhancement of enforcement capability

Further enhancing enforcement capability is another endeavour. In conjunction with the THB, Department of Justice, TD, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Traffic Branch Headquarters constantly examines how to make the evidence produced by law enforcement equipment admissible in Court.

Citing an example of the success of this initiative, he pointed out that as a result of the study, the evidence provided by the Digital Red Light Cameras and Digital Speed Enforcement Cameras, which were first introduced in 2004 to supplement the existing analogue systems, had stood up in Court over the past three years. This was despite challenges by offenders on the accuracy of the systems.

Speaking of on-going projects, Mr Yuen disclosed that Traffic Branch Headquarters is also studying with the University of Hong Kong the feasibility of extending the functions of the In-car Video Recording Devices, in order to address undesirable driving manners and gather evidence of tailgating, the latter being a major causation factor for traffic accidents.

"For tackling tailgating, In-car Recording Devices will have an advantage over Laser Guns, which can only be operated at a static point. The In-car Recording Devices will have greater mobility and be able to comprehensively record the driver's behaviour and driving manner," he explained.

With a view to improving law enforcement tools, Traffic Branch Headquarters also constantly monitors overseas Police Forces and commercial products to see if any new law enforcement equipment has come on stream.

"Bearing in mind every piece of equipment might have certain limitations and the need to meet the Court's standard of proof, we're constantly looking for better and more effective equipment that would meet our specific requirements," Mr Yuen noted.

Education and publicity

Public education and publicity on road safety are a major part of Traffic Branch Headquarters' policy to enhance road safety, being carried out on two tiers - Government and Force levels, according to Chief Inspector (Road Safety) at Traffic Branch Headquarters, Ms Chau Ying-yu.

WCIP Chau pointed out that at government level, Traffic Branch Headquarters provides secretarial services to the Road Safety Council (RSC), which is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner (Operations), Mr Yam Tat-wing. The RSC formulates and oversees a wide range of road safety activities in Hong Kong, involving representatives from other government departments and non-governmental organisations. Campaign messages are disseminated to motorists and other road users, including cyclists and pedestrians, through a variety of media, such as TV and radio commercials, posters, leaflets, tunnel billboards and promotional activities, etc.

Some campaigns carry specific themes for certain road users. For example, "Smart Driving with Courtesy" was introduced in 2006 to encourage motorists to be courteous while showing due care and concern for other road users. This theme is still in use this year.

To support the Road Safety Council's publicity and promotional efforts, Traffic Branch Headquarters, together with the five Regional Road Safety Officers, has been devoting a considerable amount of resources to educating the public and heightening their awareness of road safety issues, especially aimed at youngsters and senior citizens. For these more vulnerable road users, Police Road Safety Officers regularly visit schools and centres for the elderly to deliver road safety messages, and arrange for them to visit one of the four Road Safety Towns or the Police Road Safety Bus.

WCIP Chau pointed out that in addition to these efforts, the Regional Road Safety Officers also mounted road safety campaigns and promotional activities in line with the Force-wide road safety policy as well as providing assistance to District Councils and other road safety stakeholders in local road safety events. Traffic Branch Headquarters also co-ordinated territory-wide campaigns, targeting a specific group of road users. This year, campaigns have been mounted for professional drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, Mainland visitors, school buses and public light bus passengers, the latter focusing on the requirement to wear seat belts.

"The majority of these campaigns were followed by enforcement action to show we mean business," WCIP Chau stressed.

Speaking of enforcement action, WCIP Chau further pointed out that territory-wide operations were also frequently carried out to clamp down on serious road offences, such as speeding and drink-driving.

"We step up action against drink-driving during major holidays, such as Christmas, New Year, Lunar New Year, the two Golden Weeks and even during the last World Cup period. Closer to the annual Macau Grand Prix in November, Traffic Branch Headquarters also co-ordinated special enforcement operations to deter illegal racing on the roads," she noted.

In conclusion, Mr Yuen said: "Whilst there are a range of contributing factors for the declining fatality figure, I've no doubt that STEP is a major factor. Education and publicity campaigns, coupled with firm enforcement action, have gone a long way in bringing about this improved situation. The Road Safety Council has set 'Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong's Goal' as its target and we'll spare no effort to achieve this worthwhile objective."

For SP Yuen and WCIP Chau, IT is an important tool for their job

Digital Speed Enforcement Camera is used to deter speeding