Penalty Points
Hong Kong operates a Driving Points Penalty System whereby certain traffic offenses have penalty points associated to the offense. Committing offences with a point value will result in those points being added to your license. When a driver has incurred a total of 15 points on their license they may be disqualified from driving, liable to serve a prison sentence or may be forced to pay a fine. Any breach of the traffic offences act may be liable to points if the driver is convicted in court or if they become liable through the fixed penalty system. The Driving Points Penalty system in Hong Kong is designed to promote safety on the roads.
Penalty Points are associated with a number of, but not all, traffic offenses. Only traffic offenses that have a direct effect on road safety are included in the system. Penalty points are incurred for each offence, irrespective of the fact that there may be multiple offences in one accident. This effectively means that penalty points are cumulative. If you reach 8 points on your license then you will be issued with a letter detailing your Penalty Points and the offences that you have committed. If, within any two (2) year period, you receive 15 points, then you will be issued with a court summons. If you are summoned to court then you may have your license suspended.
For a full list of Traffic Offences and the corresponding penalties that they have under the Driving Points Penalty System:
Penalty Point Offences
As explained in a previous section, certain traffic offences in Hong Kong will be part of the Driver Penalty Point System. To help you understand this system we have provided a list of the offences and their corresponding penalty points below:
| Item | Road Traffic Ordinance | Offence | Points |
| 1 | Section 36(1) | Causing death by dangerous driving | 10 |
| 2 | Section 37(1) | Dangerous Driving | 10 |
| 3 | Section 38(1) | Careless Driving | 5 |
| 4 | Section 39 | Driving or attempting to drive under the influence of Alcohol or Drugs | 10 |
| 4A | Section 39A | Driving with an alcohol concentration above the limit | 10 |
| 4B | Section 39B(6) | Failing to take a breathalyzer without a reasonable excuse | 10 |
| 4C | Section 39C(15) | Failing to provide a specimen for laboratory analysis without a reasonable excuse | 10 |
| 5 | Section 41 | Driving in excess of speed limit by more than 15 kilometers an hour, other than where item 5A or 5B applies | 3 |
| 5A | Section 41 | Driving in excess of speed limit by more than 30 kilometers an hour, other than where item 5B applies | 5 |
| 5B | Section 41 | Driving in excess of speed limit by more than 45 kilometers an hour | 10 |
| 6 | Section 55(1) | Driving in a motor race or speed trial on a road | 10 |
| 7 | Section 56(1) | Failing to stop after an accident | 5 |
| 8 | Section 56(2) | Failing to give particulars after an accident | 3 |
| 9 | Section 56(3) | Failing to report an accident | 3 |
| 10 | Section 61 | Failing to obey directions of police officer or traffic warden | 3 |
| Item | Road Traffic Regulation | Offence | Points |
| 11 | Regulation 11(1) | Crossing double white lines | 3 |
| 12 | Regulation 18 | Failing to comply with traffic signals | 5 |
| 13 | Regulation 31 | Failing to give precedence to pedestrians on zebra crossing | 3 |
| 14 | Regulation 38(2) | Failing to stop for school crossing patrol | 3 |
Please be advised that this is a sampling of the Driving Points Penalty System offences and that a full list can be found here.
If you are curious as to how points can affect your premiums, contact us today to learn more.