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Accident reduction also depends on driver vigilance and improved traffic design

2021-06-17T22:29:10.903Z


A serious traffic accident occurred on Tai Chung Bridge Road in Sha Tin last Saturday (12th), resulting in one death and seven injuries. The incident occurred at the intersection of Tai Chung Bridge Road and Sha Tin Wai Road. At that time, Tai Chung Kiu Road could go towards Ma On Shan, while Sha Tin


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Written by: Commentary Editing Room

2021-06-15 17:45

Last update date: 2021-06-15 17:45

A serious traffic accident occurred on Tai Chung Bridge Road in Sha Tin last Saturday (12th), resulting in one death and seven injuries.

The incident occurred at the intersection of Tai Chung Bridge Road and Sha Tin Wai Road.

At that time, Tai Chung Kiu Road was allowed to go towards Ma On Shan, and the traffic light commonly known as "Wai Tsai Light" on Tai Chung Kiu Road turned left on Sha Tin Wai Road and turned green. Vehicles on the left lane were given priority to turn left, and vehicles on the center lane continued to stop.

A black private car was suspected to be able to go straight under the lights. The white private car behind followed, but collided with the green minibus that was going straight along Tai Chung Bridge Road and passing the intersection.

The minibus overturned and the driver was killed on the spot.

Judging from the accident alone, the minibus driver would not expect a car to drive out on the right, while the black car seemed to not pay attention to the light signal, and the white car driver also did not pay attention to the light signal. The main cause of the accident.

If the police prove that the driver is driving in ignorance of the lights, the driver will bear most of the responsibility.

Was it the fault of the "baby lantern"?

The truth of the accident has yet to be ascertained by the police.

The outside world can only infer the cause of the accident and judge the responsibility from the transcripts of the traffic recorded on the Internet, plus past traffic accident experience. The speed limit on the road, the design of the traffic light, the driver's line of sight and the driving attitude are also considerations.

Legislative Council documents show that a total of 253 traffic accidents occurred in the entire section of Tai Chung Bridge Road from 2014 to September 2019. Taking the junction of Tai Chung Bridge Road and Sha Tin Wai Road alone, more than 70 accidents have occurred since 2008, with casualties. countless.

Even if the driver is negligent, if the road traffic is properly designed, it is believed that the chance of accidents and the number of casualties can be reduced.

For a long time, the "child lantern" has become a target of public criticism.

Because the light signal is easy to mislead the driver, the light that the driver thinks can only turn left is understood to be able to go straight.

After this car accident, many people-including legislators and district councillors-pointed out that the "child lights" should be removed or at least their placement should be changed.

At that time, only the cut-to-mouth light was the green light on the "Sai Tsai Lantern" on Sha Tin Wai Road towards the new city near Tai Chung Bridge Road.

(Screenshot of online video)

"Small lights" can help improve traffic flow and reduce vehicle waiting time.

On Tai Chung Bridge Road, where the traffic is busy on weekdays, the function of the "child light" cannot be obliterated.

Perhaps there is a problem with the location and direction of the "baby lanterns", but the priority of release still has more advantages than disadvantages.

In addition, drivers must change their mindset. Instead of passing through the intersection with a green signal, they should stop ahead when they see a red signal, and then pay attention to the direction of the color of the signal to reduce the chance of running through the light.

In fact, after a series of traffic accidents, the Shatin District Council has repeatedly reviewed the traffic design with the Transport Department, and has taken actual actions, including setting up double white lines in front of intersections, installing back panels for traffic lights to allow drivers to see the lights more clearly, and making changes. The position of the "child lamp", such as no longer placed in the center of the intersection.

Overhead lights and deceleration are also desirable

The above-mentioned works were completed in March 2019. Unfortunately, car accidents still followed one after another.

Have you continued to improve the road traffic design on the premise of retaining the "child lights"?

In fact, the Transport Department has other suggestions, such as adding traffic islands at suitable intersections to separate lanes in different directions, but there has been no progress so far.

If the traffic lanes can be separated and two sets of lights indicating different directions of traffic can be added at the separated positions, it is expected to reduce the chance of misreading the lights, which will play a role in this or past accidents.

In the past, the department may have failed to implement the project due to insufficient space to set up a traffic island or other reasons. However, after this car accident, the department should reconsider including the improvement plan.

In addition, it is also feasible to add overhead traffic lights so that drivers can see the lights in the distance.

At the intersection of Sha Tin Lion Bridge and New Town Plaza, there is a traffic light in the middle of the carriageway.

The intersection of Sha Tin Wai Road and New Town Plaza can also be considered. There are two lights on the island, one showing a left turn, and one showing a straight and right turn to reduce the number of "wrong lights".

(Picture taken from Google Maps)

In contrast, the government has clearly opposed the proposal to install a turn-light countdown device many years ago, and the private sector must also consider it carefully.

At the time of the accident, it was unknown whether the minibus driver had "brought to the end of the light". The countdown may not have prevented the accident.

Even in general, when local drivers have become accustomed to "race against time", commercial drivers have to face the consequences of late arrivals at their destinations. The addition of a countdown to the traffic lights will have the opposite effect at any time, that is, they will be informed that the red light will be switched back to the red light. "Red light" is more likely to cause a car accident.

There are opinions that the speed of Tai Chung Bridge Road should be reduced from 70 kilometers per hour to 50 kilometers per hour to reduce accidental impact, and at the same time, the idea that drivers should remove the road section as an express road.

Although lowering the vehicle speed limit will slow down the flow of traffic, the impact will be concentrated in the passage rather than when the vehicle is stopped, and the degree is lower than the cancellation of the "child lights".

In view of the frequent accidents in the past, the Transport Department can adopt this recommendation.

The separation between pedestrians and vehicles on Dayong Bridge Road has been quite perfect, allowing drivers to focus on traffic and traffic lights. However, accidents occur frequently in this section and are located at different intersections, reflecting that there are still loopholes in the driver’s driving habits and traffic design.

In fact, as far as all roads are concerned, drivers must look at the lights and do not mistakenly regard the green arrow signal as driving in all directions.

For the transportation department, the method of giving priority to traffic in individual directions should be retained, but the light signal arrangement and the speed limit can be lowered to help drivers drive safely.

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Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-06-17

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