All children aged seven or under could soon be required to use child safety seats in private vehicles, according to a legislative proposal submitted to Legco by the Transportation and Logistics Bureau to improve road safety.
In the document submitted to the Legislative Council earlier this week, the office noted that the new law will require all children aged seven or under to use child safety seats in private vehicles.
“Exemptions will be granted if children are transported in cars during emergency situations, or if drivers reasonably believe that child passengers are over eight years old or taller than 1.35 metres,” he writes.
During this time, the office also planned to expand the rules and require seat belts on all seats in student service vehicles to further improve protection for student passengers.
As of December 2021, Hong Kong had 2,115 school private light buses with a passenger services license to provide services to students.
It is expected that there will be less than 200 existing light buses that will not be able to meet the requirement to fit seat belts by January 1, 2025, the bureau said, adding that such operators may apply for other passenger service licenses to provide non-student services.
“Given the age of existing student services vehicles and the operation of commerce, we are proposing that the effective date be January 1, 2025. We will continue to liaise with trades prior to implementation” , indicates the document.
