Hong Kong police have arrested 24 drivers and issued more than 4,000 tickets as part of a two-week crackdown on reckless driving and jaywalking.
Police said in a statement Monday that they located unmarked vehicles from June 5 to last Friday as part of operations coded “Clearview” and “Autobinder”.
The raids were aimed at catching drivers engaging in dangerous driving behaviour, such as using their phones, speeding, tailgating or not obeying traffic lights and road signs.
Officers issued 4,070 fixed penalty notices and 153 summonses.
A total of 24 drivers were also arrested on suspected charges including drunken driving, drugged driving and driving without a licence.
The operations, which also targeted jaywalking, saw pedestrians receive 630 calls and 367 warnings.
Increase in deaths
Police first announced the two-week operations in early June in response to an increase in traffic-related fatalities in recent months.
Police said that from the beginning of the year to the end of May there were 51 deaths as a result of traffic accidents, more than 40 percent compared to the same period last year. About half of the 51 victims were pedestrians.
The main causes of accidents were pedestrians walking and drivers not paying attention while driving, police said, adding that commercial vehicles were identified as the most common type of vehicle involved in fatal incidents.
Police said in a statement on Monday that they will continue to crack down on jaywalking and distracted driving to raise awareness of road safety among motorists and pedestrians.
The maximum penalty for careless driving in Hong Kong is a HK$5,000 fine and six months in prison. Jaywalking carries a fine of up to HK$2,000.
