Amendment to road traffic law set to expire

The bill that aims to enforce amendments to the local Road Traffic Law is about to expire due to a lack of progress in its discussion.

The Legislative Assembly (AL) received the bill’s initial draft on December 11, 2023. However, after almost two years in the lawmakers’ hands, it has not gathered enough consensus to pass in its final reading.

As the current AL term is about to end, the bill will likely expire, and all the legislative progress it went through will be lost.

Rules dictate that while a bill discussion can carry over from one legislative year to another within the same term, no bills can carry over between different AL terms, as the composition of the plenary and the AL Standing Committees will differ.

After it was presented to the lawmakers, the bill was passed on its first reading on April 11, 2024, with the votes of a large majority of the lawmakers (27); only two abstained (José Pereira Coutinho and Che Sai Wang).

Still, as commonly happens, after the bill was raised for internal discussion by the First Standing Committee, several disagreements started to surface, leading to its long-term idleness.
Recently, there was an attempt to accelerate the procedures, with several Committee meetings scheduled and held on consecutive days and weeks. This was followed by another prolonged period of idling that might have led to the final dropping of this bill.

The issue mainly concerns the lack of consensus between lawmakers and the government on one of the bill’s most significant changes: enforcing a demerit point system for serious traffic-related infractions.

In the latest press briefings held by the AL Committee, lawmakers clearly expressed concerns over the point system, particularly regarding how to reset or re-earn points after they were deducted. The government has not yet found a solution for this issue.

In the meantime, there were also recent changes at the helm of the Transport Bureau (DSAT), which is the department responsible for the bill. Late last month, Kelvin Lam left the post of DSAT director and was replaced by Chiang Ngoc Vai as acting director.

Among other changes to be enforced by the new law were increased penalties for speeding and drunk driving, and new rules for pedestrian behavior, particularly while using mobile phones and other devices. The bill also addresses issues like “evading responsibility” in accidents and the unauthorized touching or moving of legally parked motorcycles by other riders.

Some members of the public also criticized the bill for not including standardized regulations found in most locations worldwide and neighboring regions, such as the mandatory use of seatbelts in the rear seats of vehicles or the compulsory use of child-restraint devices.

The bill proposing amendments to the Road Traffic Law is the only bill that has not been finalized from the legislative work of the current AL term.

The AL term ends on August 15, paving the way for the election campaign, which begins on August 30 and lasts until September 12. The voting day is scheduled for September 14. A new AL term is expected to start in October.