Law on dangerous driving to take effect on July 1

The new legislation to replace "reckless driving causing death" and "reckless driving" by "dangerous driving causing death" and "dangerous driving" will come into effect on Saturday (July 1).

A spokesman for the Transport Department said that the new legislation, which was passed by the Legislative Council on May 31, would overcome the difficulty in proving the guilty knowledge for recklessness experienced under the existing offence of "reckless driving".

He explained: "The test of recklessness requires proof of the driver's subjective mental state which in practice is not easy to achieve.

"The test for dangerous driving is more objective as it is benchmarked against the driving standard expected of a competent and careful driver.

"The emphasis shifts from the mental state of the driver to the actual driving behaviour," the spokesman added.

The penalties for the two offences are as follows:

"dangerous driving causing death"

	maximum fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for five years.
	disqualification from driving for not less than two years on first conviction and not less than three years on subsequent conviction.

"dangerous driving"

	maximum fine of HK$25,000 and imprisonment for three years.
	disqualification from driving for not less than six months on first conviction and not less than 18 months on subsequent conviction.

The maximum fine for "careless driving" is also revised from $4,000 to $5,000 to strengthen the deterrent effect.

A leaflet on dangerous driving will be uploaded onto the department's homepage (http://www.info.gov.hk/td/).

It will also be available for public collection from early next week at the department's licensing offices, Government multi-storey car parks and booths of Government tunnels.

End/Thursday, June 29, 2000