The Road Safety Council (RSC) held its 46th Anniversary Ceremony cum Road Safety City Carnival at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal on January 11 to enhance public awareness of road safety.
The opening ceremony was officiated by the RSC Chairperson cum Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Siu Chak-yee; Chairperson of the Road Safety Campaign Committee, Ms Ma Ka-wai; and Assistant Commissioner for Transport (Technical Services), Mr Tony Yau.
Mr Siu expressed his heartfelt gratitude to RSC members and their working partners for their contributions and support. He said Hong Kong continued to enjoy a good record for overall road safety when compared with other major cities around the world. The annual number of accidents involving serious injuries and fatalities has dropped below 2 000 for two consecutive years. This is not only the lowest figure recorded in Hong Kong since 1960, but also a significant improvement from the peak of more than 8 400 cases in 1982.
The RSC has undertaken a lot of education and publicity work over the year to alert the public of the causation factors of traffic accidents. Efforts have also been made to promote the safety of elderly and student pedestrians, cycling safety, attentive driving, anti-drink driving and anti-drug driving. Mr Siu appealed to the public to continue to make joint efforts to realise the vision of "Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong's Goal".
A mini Road Safety Town was set up on-site. Through driving simulation, interactive games and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and art workshops, the carnival aimed at nurturing awareness among children and other members of the public to act as responsible road users. To make the carnival more entertaining and inspiring, a Kid Model Show and a Road Safety Dream Car Competition were newly added this year.