Hong Kong authorities repeal ‘flawed’ bus seat belt law

Hong Kong authorities have repealed a law requiring bus passengers to wear seat belts through subsidiary legislation, after discovering it only applied to vehicles registered since late January.The government gazetted the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 2026 on Friday, which repeals section 8D requiring passengers to wear seat belts.Section 8D stipulated that “a person must not ride as a passenger in a passenger seat of a bus to which regulation 8AB applies on any road, unless securely fastened to the seat by means of a seat belt, if any, provided for the seat”.As Section 8AB requires buses newly registered on or after January 25, 2026, to be equipped with passenger seat belts, the rule effectively applies only to passengers on those buses.On Friday last week, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said the legislation was flawed, as it failed to reflect the policy’s intent to require all passengers on public and private buses to wear seat belts where available.The rule also drew public backlash after taking effect, with passengers complaining about poorly fitting restraints, hygiene issues and concerns that unbuckling early before alighting could breach the law.