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Motor Vehicle Idling law enacted soon |
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The Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance will come into effect on December 15, prohibiting a motor vehicle from idling under section (5) which stipulates that a driver commits an offence if he allows an idling vehicle to operate for more than three minutes in aggregate within any 60-minute period. A grace period of one month, expiring on January 14, 2012 will be given. On December 8, Traffic Branch Headquarters issued detailed guidelines on implementation of the Ordinance. The Environment Protection Department (EPD) is the lead department of the Ordinance. Environmental Protection Inspectors (EPI) and Traffic Warden (TWD) are the only enforcement agents authorised to issue Fixed Penalty Notice to persons contravening the idling prohibition for which the penalty is set at $320. Police Officers are not authorised to issue Fixed Penalty Notice under this Ordinance. EPD has conducted a series of publicity and education campaign in respect of the Ordinance through different medias. Whilst TWD are authorised to issue Fixed Penalty Notices arising from the idling prohibition, the deployment and prioritisation of duties assigned to TWD remain the prerogative of the Commissioner of Police. Parking enforcement remains the core duty of TWD whose mode of operation and priorities will remain unchanged. A TWD has to witness the contravention personally with a minimum of three minutes before issuing the Fixed Penalty Notice. All TWDs have received training on the new legislation and their operation and newly recruited TWDs will receive this training as part of their induction course. Besides, Traffic Branch Headquarters has given briefings to DOOs and Chief Inspectors commanding DTTs and divisional supervisory officers. The idling prohibition applies to all types of motor vehicles on all roads in Hong Kong, including private roads. The objective of the new legislation is to change drivers' attitude with a view to improving the air quality. For practical or operational needs, the Ordinance has provided exemptions for certain conditions. Details of these exemptions can be found on the website of EPD www.epd.gov.hk or in the Ordinance. The Director of Environmental Protection is authorised to grant exemptions in addition to the statutory ones. |
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