Driving licence in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Driving Licence issued by the Hong Kong Transport Department.

Driving licences in Hong Kong are issued by the Transport Department in Hong Kong. A full driving licence is valid for 10 years (unless the driver is approaching 70 years old in age) and is compulsory in order to drive a motor vehicle.^[1] Most driving licences are issued after the applicant passed a driving test for the respective type of vehicles. They may be issued without a test if the applicant is a holder of an overseas driving licence issued on passing a driving test by one of the approved countries.

Format

In Hong Kong, driving licence need to be use along with other identity document so it contain less information than most other counties. The current version only contain the holder's name, identity number (usually the same as HKID number), driving entitlements and date of issue.^[2]

Levels of licence

In Hong Kong, driving licences are divided to 3 levels: learner's licence, provisional licence and full licence.

Learner's licence

A new driver can start to learn to drive only a private car (class 1), light goods vehicle (class 2), motorcycle (class 3) or motor tricycle (class 22), while most other classes are considered commercial vehicles and require a driver to have certain experience to learn them.

A person can apply for a learner licence even before passing the written test (with the exception of motorcycle and motor tricycle).

A driver with a learner's licence may drive on any public road, except roads not permitted for learners, motorways and tunnels, under the following conditions:

carrying an L-plate at the front and back of the vehicle
in specified times
with the supervision of a qualified driving instructor (except motorcycle or motor tricycle)
carrying no other passenger other than the driving instructor, test examiners and one other learner

A learner's licence is valid for 1 year and can be renewed.

In order to apply for a motorcycle / motor tricycle learner's licence, the driver has to first attend a compulsory course in a driving school and pass the compulsory test, after then, he/she can apply for the learner's licence and learn driving on streets. Unlike other classes of vehicles, no driving instructor is necessary when learning driving a motorcycle / motor tricycle.

Probationary licence

After 1 October 2000, any person who applies to take a motorcycle or motor tricycle driving test is required to apply for a probationary driving licence upon passing the test. This scheme was extended to private cars and light goods vehicles in 2009. The holder of a probationary driving licence needs to undergo a 12-month probationary period. The probationary period will be extended by 6 months if convicted of a minor road traffic offence, and the licence will be cancelled if convicted of a serious road traffic offence.^[3]

A driver with a probationary licence may drive on any public road under the following conditions:

carrying a P-plate at the front and back of the vehicle
limited to 70 km/h, even if the speed limit of the road is greater
cannot use the right lane on a motorway with 3 lanes or more, except when exiting on the right
cannot carry a passenger on a motorcycle.

Light goods vehicles driver are exempt from this scheme and can apply for a full licence after passing the test if he/she is considered an "experienced driver", i.e. have already held the full private car driving licence for 3 years, or 2 years after converting from a probationary licence, immediately before the application.

A probationary licence is valid for 1 year when first applied, and can be renewed by half a year if the probationary period is not yet over for a certain class of vehicle.

Full licence

After finishing the probationary period, the driver may apply for a full licence, valid for 10 years unless approaching 70 years old in age. For commercial vehicles, the driver may apply for a full licence after passing the test.

Vehicle Classification Codes

1 Private car (with 7 passenger seats or less)
2 Light Goods Vehicle (with maximum gross vehicle weight not exceeding 5.5 tonnes)
- Class 1 licence is automatically issued when class 2 licence is issued
3 Motorcycle
- Class 22 licence is automatically issued when class 3 licence is issued
4 Private Light Bus (with 8 to 16 passenger seats)
5 Public Light Bus (with 16 passenger seats)
6 Taxi (with 4 or 5 passenger seats)
9 Private Bus (with 17 or more passenger seats)
10 Public Bus (with 17 or more passenger seats)
- Class 4 licence is automatically issued when class 9, 10 licences are issued
15 Invalid Carriage
16 Government Vehicle
17 Public Bus - Franchised
- Class 4, 9, 10 licences are automatically issued when class 17 licence is issued
18 Medium Goods Vehicle (with maximum gross vehicle weight above 5.5 tonnes but not exceeding 24 tonnes)
- Class 2 licence is automatically issued when class 18 licence is issued
19 Heavy Goods Vehicle (with maximum gross vehicle weight above 24 tonnes)
- Class 2, 18 licences are automatically issued when class 19 licence is issued
20 Articulated Vehicle
- Requires class 18 licence as prerequisite, class 19 licence is automatically issued when class 20 licence is issued
21 Special Purpose Vehicle (vehicle designed for purposes other than carrying passengers or goods, for example, street washing vehicle, arrow vehicle, ice cream vehicle, road construction vehicle, etc)
- Requires class 2, 18 or 19 licence as prerequisite, allowing the driver to drive a special purpose vehicle with the maximum gross vehicle weight up to the corresponding weight of the prerequisite licence
22 Motor Tricycle
A Class/Type of vehicle with automatic transmission
- A driver with a licence without A can drive both manual transmission vehicles and automatic transmission vehicles, but a driver with an A licence can only drive automatic transmission vehicles

Disused codes

8 Goods vehicle (with weight exceeding 2.25 tonnes)
- In the past, class 2 was vans with weight not exceeding 2.25 tones, and issuing class 1 (private car) licence could also automatically issue class 2
- Now replaced by classes 18, 19 and 20
12 public bus (double decker and Guy Arab Bus)
13 public bus (double decker and Seddon midibus)
- Classes 12 and 13 are both replaced by class 17
14 motor-assisted pedal cycle

Direct issue of a driving licence

As stated on the application form for direct issue of full Hong Kong driving licence,^[4] when a person has documentary evidence to the Commissioner's satisfaction that all of the following apply, the person is eligible to direct issue of a Hong Kong licence:

One has a full driving licence (but not an International driving permit) during the past three years issued by one of the following countries or territories: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, India, Iceland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, Namibia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States
The driving entitlement(s) for which one is applying must be equivalent to the class(es) which are authorized to drive by the issuing country or place; and
The driving licence was obtained by passing the relevant driving test(s) in the issuing country or place; and
Satisfies one of the three requirements below:
- The licence was originally issued on any date during a period of residence of not less than 6 months in the country or place of issue (entry and departure stamps on a passport, school transcript or employer's testimonial with employment period specified are accepted as proof); or
- The licence has been issued for not less than 5 years immediately before the application; or
- Hold a passport or an equivalent travel document of the country or place in which the licence was issued.

References

Traffic law and safety

Rules of the road	All-way stop Assured Clear Distance Ahead Australian Road Rules Boulevard rule Green Cross Code Move over law New Zealand Road Code Overtaking Right- and left-hand traffic Right-of-way Right turn on red School bus traffic stop laws Traffic code Vienna Convention on Road Traffic

Road user guides	Driver's manual The Highway Code The Highway Code (Malta) Road Users' Code Rules of the Road (Ireland)

Enforcement	Breathalyzer Camera Enforcement Red light Highway patrol/State police Parking enforcement Road traffic control Traffic court Traffic guard Traffic stop Traffic ticket Warning

Speed limit	Advisory speed limit Assured Clear Distance Ahead National Maximum Speed Law School zone Speed limit enforcement Speed limits by country Category: Speed limits by country

Moving violations	Driving under the influence Canada United States Distracted driving Mobile phones and driving Texting while driving Reckless driving Street racing Tailgating Vehicular homicide Wrong-way driving

Driver licensing	Commercial driver's license European driving licence Graduated driver licensing Inter-American Driving Permit International Driving Permit Learner's permit Point system Driving licences by country List of countries by minimum driving age

Traffic violations reciprocity	Commercial Driver's License Information System Driver License Agreement Driver License Compact Non-Resident Violator Compact

Parking	Alternate-side parking Decriminalised parking enforcement Disabled parking permit Double parking Parking chair Parking violation Wheel clamp

Car safety	Seat belt laws Click It or Ticket Clunk Click Every Trip

Road safety	Tachograph Digital tachograph Drivers' working hours (Europe) Epilepsy and driving Hours of service (US) 'How's my driving?' sign Old age and driving Sleep deprived driving Slow moving vehicle

Driving licence in Asia

Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen

States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan

Dependencies and other territories	British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.