Government to revise the mandatory seatbelt law

The mandatory seatbelt law, which took effect last Sunday, will be revised by the government.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan admitted there were deficiencies in the law.

The government says it will revise the mandatory seatbelt law, which came into force just five days ago.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan made the announcement this afternoon.

Chan said after reviewing the legislation with the Department of Justice, they have identified some technical loopholes.

The law failed to reflect the intent of the policy requiring all passengers riding on public transport.

For the sake of clarity, the government will delete the legislation as soon as possible.

She said the government will fix the wording of the law before consulting the Legislative Council and relaunching the measure.

According to the existing law, passengers must wear a seatbelt if the bus was first registered on or after January 25 this year.

In other words, for any bus registered before that date -- even if it already had seatbelts installed, riders are technically not required to use them.

When asked why this mistake wasn't caught earlier, Mable Chan admitted the oversight and vowed to rectify it promptly.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Security Chris Tang strongly advised passengers to wear seatbelts regardless of whether it is a legal requirement.

"I think wearing seatbelt it's one of the best way to safeguard the life during any traffic accidents. The government will pursue regarding the follow-up regarding the legal enactment issues. For the time being, our law enforcement officers will do maximum publicity regarding the wearing of seatbelts."

So what do residents think?

This resident believes the seatbelt mandate would be sensible for long-haul trips.

The seatbelt law was passed through a fast-track procedure known as the "negative vetting," under which the legislation takes effect on the date of gazettal until lawmakers raise objections.

The discussion for the seatbelt law was wrapped up in just two Legco meetings on a single day.

Former lawmaker Michael Tien admitted the process was far too rushed.

Tin recalled lawmakers were pushing through two major policy areas at once -- regulations for drivers' mobile devices and seatbelt rules.

But no matter what, he said he has to take responsibility for this.

Andrew Lam confessed that he was not one hundred percent sure about if the wording reflected the intent of the law during the review process.

He stressed the importance of public consultation.