A notice was published in the Gazette today (October 19) on the turnaround arrangement for Mainland maintenance and emergency rescue vehicles on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB).
The HZMB is the first cross-boundary land link connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. For proper maintenance of the HZMB and speedy handling of accidents or other emergency situations, both Hong Kong and Mainland governments may deploy maintenance and emergency rescue vehicles for carrying out duties on the HZMB.
The Mainland vehicles concerned will include:
(i) maintenance vehicles engaged or authorised by the HZMB Authority which have the logo specified by the HZMB Authority displayed on the vehicles may need to enter Hong Kong in the course of discharging road maintenance duties on the HZMB Main Bridge Section;
(ii) ambulances registered under Zhuhai Municipal Health and Family Planning Bureau may need to enter Hong Kong in the course of discharging rescue duties in the event of accidents on the HZMB; and
(iii) fire fighting vehicles registered under Zhuhai Municipal Fire Department may need to enter Hong Kong in the course of discharging fire-fighting and rescue duties in the event of accidents on the HZMB.
A spokesman for the Transport Department (TD) said, "Having regard to the special circumstances and the specific route mentioned above, the Commissioner for Transport has exempted the vehicles concerned by notice in the gazette from the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations, Chapter 374E, with effect from October 19, 2018 pursuant to regulation 3(c) of the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations. The above exemption does not affect the application of other laws of Hong Kong to the vehicles concerned when they are being driven on a road in Hong Kong."
The spokesman stressed that the vehicles concerned shall not be driven on a road in Hong Kong other than the Hong Kong Link Road of the HZMB. They shall return to the Mainland via the turnaround on the Hong Kong Link Road near San Shek Wan upon reaching that turnaround, except where the ambulances and fire fighting vehicles described above enter Hong Kong upon request by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for assistance in case of major serious accidents on the HZMB.
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