Learner drivers causing traffic jams, says lawmaker

A lawmaker on Wednesday called on the Transport Department to review the city's driving test routes, saying slow-moving learner drivers are making traffic jams worse. Learner drivers practice with their instructors on dozens of test routes across the territory before taking the road test to get a licence. Speaking on RTHK's In The Chamber, legislator Lau Chi-pang said he has received complaints from residents in some areas that learner drivers are obstructing other vehicles on the road. He said that as population and traffic patterns change, the department should consider adjusting test routes. "I went to Happy Valley to study the traffic patterns. I saw why traffic doesn't move sometimes and there's a long queue. I realised it's because learner drivers are moving at a very slow speed," he said. "It's the same problem in Ho Man Tin. In both areas, the issue is that when these routes were first set up for learners or for the driving test, the population and traffic flow were very different from today. But for decades, nothing has changed." Edited by Thomas McAlinden