Lawmaker calls for faster way to settle minor traffic accidents

[Photo: Renato Marques]

Despite a 6.5% drop in traffic accidents and a 2.5% decline in violations during the first seven months of the year, lawmaker Ella Lei has called for a rapid accident-handling mechanism, noting that residents involved in minor collisions often choose to wait for police rather than settle the matter on-site due to uncertainty over evidence and insurance claims.

Traffic violations in Macau fell 2.49% to 416,079 cases in the first seven months of the year, with total fines amounting to MOP104.6 million, down 7% year over year, according to the latest data from the Public Security Police Force (PSP).

Road accidents also declined 6.5% to 8,105 cases, with injuries down 2.47% to 3,075, though the number of accident deaths rose to four, compared with none in the same period last year. Pedestrian-involved accidents fell 18.84% to 293 cases, while overloaded or unsafe cargo violations rose 3.01% to 718 cases.

Among all violations, “failure to yield” saw the sharpest increase, surging 38.21% to 1,284 cases, while mobile phone use while driving fell 7.14% and driving without a seatbelt dropped 48.88%. Jaywalking violations fell significantly by 41.38% to 3,116 cases.

Police recorded 1,058 taxi offences, down 18.55%, including 18 overcharging cases, 94 refusals to take passengers, and 564 cases of failing to queue at taxi stands, while unlicensed ride-hailing vehicles fell 27.03% to 27 cases.

Alcohol test failures recorded during checks or following accidents totaled 79, down 11.24%, with no drug-driving cases recorded.

With Macau recording 14,638 traffic accidents last year – many of which caused gridlock during peak hours – lawmaker Ella Lei has called for a rapid accident-handling mechanism similar to mainland China’s “fast-track” system.

She noted that even in minor collisions with no injuries, in cases where both parties have already agreed on liability and are willing to settle, residents still tend to wait for police at the scene due to concerns about evidence and insurance claims.

Lei suggested that drivers could be guided to photograph the scene and upload images to an official platform, move their vehicles off the road, and settle claims after police confirm liability.

She said advances in Macau’s e-government services and road monitoring systems had already laid the technical groundwork for such a system, and that a “rapid handling, rapid compensation” approach would cut red tape, ease traffic, and free up police for more critical work.