DSAT says no rush to review Road Traffic Law dropped last legislative term

The Transport Bureau (DSAT) says there is no urgency to proceed with the revision of the Road Traffic Law that was under analysis during the last legislative term.

The bill review was dropped because the Legislative Assembly (AL) Standing Committee did not reach consensus on certain provisions before the end of the AL term on August 15, 2025.
According to a response to The Times on the matter, DSAT noted that the government aims to “formulate a more comprehensive traffic legal system,” for which legislative proceedings will be initiated at an appropriate time.”

In the same response, DSAT said that the “government will continue to listen to opinions from the public and all sectors” and conduct research on the matter, aiming to produce a better version of the bill.
As the bureau also noted, the Road Traffic Law “covers a wide range of areas and is closely related to all residents and road users.”

The bill, reviewed by the Executive Council in 2023, reached the AL in December of the same year. At the time, the same authorities classified the amendments as very important and pressing to keep pace with new developments in road traffic.

However, after almost two years in the lawmakers’ hands, it has not gathered enough consensus to pass its final reading.

The bill passed its first reading on April 11, 2024, with a large majority of lawmakers voting in favor (27), and only two abstaining (José Pereira Coutinho and Che Sai Wang).

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, because the composition of the plenary and the AL Standing Committees changes.

At the time, it was noted that the bill contained important provisions that needed improvement, including stronger penalties for traffic-related offenses, jaywalking, and other violations.

According to the lawmakers who composed the previous AL Committee that analyzed the bill, the major disagreements centered on the inclusion of a point-based driving offense system that would assign demerit points to license records for traffic violations.

According to the same committee members, despite the system being widely used worldwide, the bill failed to provide a comprehensive framework for implementation and for the restoration of points removed for traffic offenses, among other aspects.

Other provisions, reportedly essential and to be enforced by the new bill, pertain to pedestrian behavior, with expected increases in penalties and the expansion of behaviors deemed unlawful, such as crossing the street while on the phone or using electronic devices.