Superintendent of the Traffic Branch Headquarters (TBHQ) Nip Hoi-kwan led officers to discuss the development of autonomous vehicles with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Land Transport Authority of Singapore via video conferencing on January 27. Two engineers from Hong Kong’s Transport Department also attended the meeting.

In May 2021, the Hong Kong Government consulted the Legislative Council on its preliminary proposal for establishing a new regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles. In February 2017, Singapore amended the Road Traffic Act by defining autonomous vehicles, the system of autonomous vehicles and automation technology in the Act. To draw on Singapore’s experience, TBHQ established contact with the SPF through the Liaison Bureau to gain a better understanding of Singapore’s legal framework concerning autonomous vehicles, the difficulties and challenges on areas such as law enforcement and traffic accident investigation, etc.

During the meeting, officers of Hong Kong and Singapore discussed issues including the development of autonomous vehicles in Singapore, cyber security, law enforcement, traffic accident investigation, retrieval of data from event data recorders, licensing as well as testing regimes and the related legal liabilities.

Officers of the Traffic Branch Headquarters and engineers of the Transport Department hold a virtual meeting with their Singaporean counterparts to discuss the development of autonomous vehicles.