Are Hong Kong taxi drivers following new rules limiting mobile devices?
Industry leader warns of safety risks as some drivers try to get round stricter mobile device rules
Many Hong Kong taxi drivers are following new regulations allowing at most two mobile devices at the front of the vehicle although some have tried to bypass the rule by installing large monitors, a move that an industry leader has warned endangers road safety.
Under amended Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations, which took effect on Sunday, a maximum of two mobile devices can be placed within a driver’s forward field of vision, including the windscreen and dashboard. It also stipulates that the diagonal length of each device must not exceed 19cm (7.5 inches).
The revised rules are expected to have a greater effect on the taxi trade, as about 40,000 cabbies have long competed for orders using various apps and checking traffic conditions by mounting multiple mobile phones behind the wheel.
Police said on Sunday night that two taxi drivers would be issued summonses after officers posing as passengers at the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint found them to have more than two mobile phones mounted on their dashboards.
The force said the pair had also failed to display taxi driver identifications and used fleet-designated taxi parking areas without authorisation and solicited passengers.
Some drivers have devised workarounds to the new rules, including streaming several apps onto one large monitor.