Transport Dept to install 13,000 new electronic audible traffic signals by 2027
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South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Eyesight tests for Hong Kong drivers seriously need to be updated
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@ or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification It is tragic that it took a fatal accident involving an 80-year-old driver to get to this point. However, I am glad that the government is finally returning to the proposal to tighten drivers' physical fitness requirements. With reference to the Post's coverage of the matter, I would like to address two points. Firstly, stakeholders representing drivers are calling for health checks to be subsidised, especially since they cost HK$7,000 (US$892) to HK$8,000. Other than giving straightforward subsidies, I believe the government can explore letting drivers use their Elderly Health Care Vouchers. Another possibility is hosting the checks at District Health Centres, which are already subsidised. As Alice Wu said on August 11 , 'Whoever foots the bill, medical checks are a must... What is HK$8,000 compared with the value of a human life?' Secondly, stricter vision requirements for drivers mean that comprehensive vision exams should be included in health checks. At the risk of repeating what I said last year , it is still not too late for the government to engage optometrists in updating vision tests for drivers. Comprehensive vision exams do not only measure visual acuity and visual field. Instead, as primary care practitioners for the eye, optometrists are trained to detect and diagnose both ocular and systemic diseases. Ocular diseases are related to the eye, such as glaucoma, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration. Systemic diseases include general conditions that present as symptoms in the eye, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. All of these conditions affect drivers' vision and overall health significantly.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Stricter health checks for Hong Kong taxi drivers should just be a start
A proposal in Hong Kong to require commercial vehicle drivers aged 65 and above to pass a fitness test before their driving licences can be renewed was first raised in the Legislative Council back in May 2023. Little was heard about it since – until now. After last week's horrific car crash involving an octogenarian taxi driver, the transport secretary finally announced a follow-up: the proposal would be introduced in Legco by the first quarter of next year. Why did it take a high-profile accident to get things moving? The government favours high-level planning, and technology and efficiency are high on its agenda. It unveiled a blueprint on the city's future transport infrastructure development in December 2023, and is working to finalise a transport strategy blueprint this year that incorporates various smart mobility initiatives. But what the government has neglected in all this talk about technology is the human factor. Technology can help make transport more efficient and even safer, but safety can still be put at risk when the human behind the wheel feels dizzy and loses control, as happened in the case of the tragic accident last week. The government is feeling the heat from lawmakers and the community to impose stricter rules for cab drivers. Under current regulations, only those aged 70 and older are required to submit fitness certification, and their driving licences can be renewed for up to three years. The government wants to lower the age threshold to 65 and shorten the licence period to a year instead of three. The taxi industry was quick to object. The chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi Owners' Association, Wong Po-keung, who is 80 years old and himself a taxi driver, said he preferred the status quo. He believed older drivers were being targeted unfairly.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Nvidia, AMD to pay 15% of China chip sale income to US, Financial Times reports
Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices agreed to pay 15 per cent of their revenues from chip sales to China to the US government as part of a deal with the Trump administration to secure export licences, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The newspaper cited a US official as saying that Nvidia would share 15 per cent of the revenue from sales of its H20 chip in China and AMD will deliver the same share from MI308 revenues. It followed an earlier report from the paper that the Commerce Department started issuing H20 licences on Friday, two days after Nvidia Chief Executive Cfficer Jensen Huang met US President Donald Trump The Trump administration had frozen the sale of some advanced chips to China earlier this year as trade tensions spiked between the world's two largest economies. Nvidia told the Financial Times that it follows US export rules, while AMD did not respond to the newspaper's request for comment.
