The Hong Kong government has gazetted amended bills on the mandatory fitting and wearing of seat belts to newly registered public transport and commercial vehicles and the regulation of the use of mobile devices while driving, in order to further enhance road safety in the city.

On Friday, the government published in the gazette the Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2025, the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 2025 and the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2025 (Amendment Regulations).

The amendments “aim to enhance the safety of passengers traveling on public transport and commercial vehicles, as well as the safety of using mobile telecommunications devices while driving,” a spokesperson for the HKSAR government said in a statement.

The amended regulations covered two arrangements.

One is to extend the mandatory fitting and wearing of seat belts to all newly registered public transport vehicles and commercial vehicles - including buses, private light buses, goods vehicles and special purpose vehicles - and their seats. Where seats are equipped with seat belts, passengers must wear them.

All student service vehicles, including existing and newly registered vehicles, will also be required to be fitted with seat belts and safer seats to enhance the protection for young students.

ALSO READ: People in HK urged to use child safety seats in private cars

Another arrangement was about strengthening the regulations for drivers' use of mobile telecommunications devices - including mobile phones, tablets and laptops - while driving.

No more than two mobile devices can be used, with each screen's diagonal length not exceeding 19 centimeters. Placement of the device must not obstruct drivers’ view of the road and traffic conditions and not interfere with the line of sight to mirrors, devices or camera displays used for observing road conditions.

The above amendment regulations will be tabled at the Legislative Council on Sept 10 for the negative vetting procedure.

“The government had struck an appropriate balance among road safety, the operational needs of the transport trades and technological developments when formulating the amendment regulations,” the government spokesperson pointed out.

READ MORE: Private cars in HK must have child safety seats from Nov

As another government measure to strengthen road safety, child passengers traveling in private cars must use a child restraining device, such as a child safety seat, starting from Nov 1.