The Legislative Council today (24 December) passed the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Automated Vehicles) Bill 2022 in its third reading, which aims to provide a flexible regulatory regime for the pilot use of motorized vehicles in Hong Kong to study, test and evaluate motorized vehicle technology and the wider use of motorized vehicles in Hong Kong.

The Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, said that after the passage of the law, motorized vehicles mainly apply for pilot licences and certificates, which can be used for vehicle registration after approval. For applications for public transport services, the Transport Department will consider the full impact.

On 2022 October 10, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) announced a partnership with Park Enterprise City Systems Limited to conduct autonomous vehicle testing on the open roads in Pak Shek Kok Science Park. (Profile photo/Photo by Xia Jialang)

Autonomous driving lags behind the mainland Hong Kong lacks the development of connected vehicles

Huang Kam-fai, a member of the Legislative Council of the Election Committee with an innovation and technology background, said that driverless taxis in Shenzhen, driverless buses in Guangzhou and highly autonomous minibuses in Nansha have been trialed for one year. In contrast, Hong Kong's unmanned test use, only patrol cars and driverless buses in the airport restricted area, the scale of test use is difficult to compare with the mainland. Wong said that the Ordinance is only a pilot scheme, not a complete autonomous driving legislation.

He also pointed out that automatic vehicles need software network cooperation, and need to obtain information from public facilities to urge the government to make plans and allow vehicle-to-vehicle information to be exchanged to grasp vehicle speed and improve road safety, pointing out that the current development of Hong Kong's Internet of Vehicles has limitations.

The draft only provides a framework for overfocusing on security and ignoring I&T

Mr Tse Wai-chuen, a member of the Legislative Council on Architecture, Surveying, Town Planning and Gardens, said he was worried, saying that the draft only establishes a regulatory framework and empowers the government to formulate and approve in detail. He added that he was worried that the government would focus too much on safety, resist innovation, or be a "regulator" and neglect to play a "facilitator" at the same time, so that Hong Kong's technology R&D and application lagged behind others and failed to benefit the public.

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