Car accident statistics in Hong Kong: How are we driving?

Accidents can occur at anytime on the roads. In Hong Kong, traffic accidents and statistics are recorded by the Traffic Branch Headquarters (TBH) of the Hong Kong Police Force, as well as the Transport Department. Comparatively, Hong Kong can count itself amongst the countries with the lowest accident and fatality rates. It’s still helpful, however, to understand what the accident statistics in Hong Kong tell us, and how they can help us be safer drivers.

Accident statistics in Hong Kong: how many actually occur?

Using data from the Transport Department, the figures for Road Traffic Casualty and Accident Statistics show us there were 16,099 total accidents on Hong Kong roads in 2016. Breaking down these accidents, we can see the magnitude of these accidents were:

So, on the whole, statistics show that the degree of the majority of incidents in Hong Kong were only slight accidents. Considering the city’s population of 8 million people, the figure of 129 fatal accidents - resulting in 132 total road-related deaths - is statistically low when compared to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Thailand had a whopping 478 deaths on roads during a seven day New Year period).

Slight accidents are defined as those where people involved were not detained in hospital, or not detained for more than 12 hours, while serious crashes involved hospitals caring for someone involved for longer than 12 hours. Fatal accidents are those where one or more persons involved died within 30 days of an accident occurring.

Details of the accidents that occur in Hong Kong

The TBH’s Traffic Report for the first half of 2016 provides more insight into the types of crashes taking place on Hong Kong roads, where they’re taking place, and who are involved.

Cause of accidents

In the first six months of the Police’s traffic statistics, the TBH found that drivers were at fault for a majority of the accidents recorded; car users were at fault for 83.6% of all accidents, whilst other people (e.g. pedestrians, cyclists) only caused 16.4%.

Location of accidents

When it comes to where Police were recording car accidents statistics in Hong Kong, the majority of accidents in the first half of 2016 were actually taking place at pedestrian crossings. Road junctions were the next biggest caution area for Hong Kong drivers, whilst other locations (such as the expressway, or non-urban stretches of road) served as the location for the rest.

Accidents in Hong Kong were also identified via territory, with New Territories North frequently showing the highest statistics in total number of traffic accidents, as well as the most fatalities:

* Figures from January to June 2016, from the TBH Traffic Report

Types of vehicles involved

As far as the types of vehicles most likely to be involved in an accident in Hong Kong, statistics show that private cars were involved in one-third of all recorded traffic accidents. Taxis were the next likely to have an incident, followed by goods vehicles, franchised public buses, and motorcycles. The types of vehicles less likely to be involved in a traffic accidents, according to accident statistics in Hong Kong, were light rail transport, handcarts, and trams.

Traffic offenses recorded by police

Perhaps one factor driving Hong Kong’s low traffic accident statistics might be in the increased policing of road users by law enforcement.

As can be seen, the first six-months of 2015 resulted in only 865,594 offenses being reported, while the first six-months of 2016 has seen that figure jump to 988,301. In this period, the following actions were also reported:

• Drink Driving: 104,634 drivers were tested, with 498 being found to have exceeded the legal breath-alcohol limits

• Drug Driving: 46 Drug Influence Recognition Observations were carried out, and 1 Impairment Test was conducted. 6 drivers in total were arrested in the first half of 2016 for driving under the influence (a reduction in 17 cases in the same time in 2015).

• Cycling Safety: Two operations in March and June of 2016 saw a total of 4,501 summonses and 4,138 verbal warnings issued to cyclists for road offenses.

• Transport Complaints: Police also handled 1,110 taxi-related complaints from members of the public, and a further 920 referrals from the Transport Complaints Unit. A total of 1,176 prosecutions were instituted for taxi-related offenses; showing a better handling of complaints this half of the year compared to last (2,348 complaints made between Jan-Jun 2015, with 1,491 prosecutions instituted).

• Disqualifications: The first half of 2016 also saw a total of 992 people disqualified from driving for committing driving offenses.

This “stepping up” of police efforts to stamp out dangerous driving around the SAR has continued into 2017, with the Hong Kong Government directing police to carry out more campaigns to keep roads safer.

The causes of road accidents in Hong Kong

When it comes to the major contributory factors seen in accident statistics in Hong Kong, the ten most common reasons were:

1. Driving inattentively

2. Losing control of the vehicle

3. Driving too close to the vehicle in front

4. Careless lane changing

5. Improper turning, or illegal turns

6. Careless cycling

7. Reversing negligently

8. Failing to ensure the safety of a passenger

9. Disobeying traffic signals

10. Disobeying give way signs

While the top four causes have steadily worsened over the past year, it’s good to see that careless cycling has reduced massively since 2015 (Jan-Jun 2015 saw 435 offenses recorded, Jul-Dec 2015 had 549 offenses, while Jan-Jun 2016 only reported 235). Disobeying traffic signals is also a cause that has reduced in the past year, which should hopefully see the number of road junction incidents reduce if the trend continues.

Keeping yourself safe on Hong Kong roads

Driving safely is an important responsibility for Hong Kong drivers. It’s the first thing you can do to ensure your own safety, but doing so should also make the road safer for drivers around you. Understanding how, when, and why accidents occur is part of the job. Ensure you avoid committing traffic offenses whilst driving in Hong Kong, and remember to maintain your vehicle so it runs safely and smoothly.

The other part to keeping yourself and others safe on the roads is by securing adequate car insurance in Hong Kong. This is where our team of experts at Kwiksure can help. We’ve been helping drivers find the best car insurance available in the SAR for almost 20 years. Our commitment to safety means you can be sure that we have your best interests in mind, such as writing an article on car accident statistics in Hong Kong to better educate your on-road decisions.

For a free quote or some helpful car insurance advice, contact the team Kwiksure today!