Choking on Hong Kong’s streets? You can direct your gratitude towards car idlers for that.
Analysis by SCMP shows that drivers who let their car engines run while stopped get the least amount of police attention among minor crimes.
The Motor Vehicle Idling Ordinance, which came into effect at the end of 2011, was aimed at tackling air pollution woes as well as heat and noise nuisances.
Under the ordinance, motorists can be issued with a HKD320 penalty notice if found to be violating the idling limit (three minutes) after already receiving a warning.
If a driver is found to have left their car running again while in this probation period, he or she may get a second penalty notice or be prosecuted.
Pretty complicated stuff.
According to the analysis, between 2011 and 2013, 3,070 idling vehicles were timed, but only 86 penalty notices were handed out by traffic officials. Last year, 1,127 cars were timed, and only 46 penalty notices were served.
The figures suggest that more than 95 percent of vehicles that failed to follow the ordinance weren’t penalised.
Kenneth Chan, Civic Party lawmaker and vice chairman of the environmental affairs panel at LegCo, said that the hot summer weather and waiting taxi cabs underscore the complexity in enforcing the ordinance (read: laziness of traffic officials).
However, he also told SCMP, “The half-hearted approach could be a result of the ordinance being a rather unpopular one, especially for the transport sector and the wealthier class of society.”
But surely nobody is above the law, right?
In comparison, 20,015 pedestrians were fined last year for jaywalking, taking too long to cross the road or ignoring directions of police.
#HKPriorities
Photo: Ding Yuin Shan via Flickr
