Govt to suspend mandatory bus seatbelt rule due to legal flaw

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan announced on Friday that the government will delete the mandatory seatbelt provision for bus passengers after identifying technical deficiencies in the law.

After consulting the Department of Justice, authorities decided to remove the relevant clauses for clarity. 

There is currently no legal requirement for passengers on franchised or non-franchised buses to wear seatbelts. The government will refine the provisions, consult the Legislative Council again, and reintroduce them later.

Chan said the department has carefully listened to extensive public, media and legislative feedback over recent days. 

The original intent was to provide extra passenger protection. While the rule is paused, focus will shift to education and promotion. 

The government will study improvements to the legislation and incorporate community views before further LegCo consultation.

Asked why the flaw was not spotted during drafting, promulgation and repeated official explanations, Chan stressed the sole principle is passenger safety. 

All publicity and statements are aimed to convey this goal. As a responsible step, the clauses will be deleted, gazetted and tabled in LegCo for negative vetting.

On whether an apology would be issued, Chan admitted the technical shortcomings in drafting failed to fully reflect legislative intent and caused public confusion during implementation, describing the situation as unsatisfactory.

The government will correct it swiftly and widely seek opinions for better safety.