A spokesman for the Public Security Police (PSP) confirmed to the Post by phone yesterday evening that a local boy was injured after being hit by a seven-seater vehicle on a zebra crossing in the peninsula’s northern district.
At about 7:48 a.m., PSP officers received a report that a traffic accident had happened at Praça das Portas do Cerco, with the caller stating that one person was injured.
Upon arriving at the scene, PSP officers confirmed that the accident involved a private vehicle and an injured minor male resident, the spokesman said. He added that Fire Services Bureau (CB) officers rushed the injured boy to hospital with minor injuries.
The spokesman stated that the driver, a Hong Kong resident in his forties, claimed to police that he had slowed down but still failed to notice the boy. PSP officers have fined the driver, the spokesman.
According to Article 37 of Macau’s Road Traffic Law, when approaching a marked zebra crossing, drivers are legally required to slow down significantly and, if necessary, come to a complete stop to allow pedestrians who have stepped onto (or are about to step onto) the crossing to pass safely.
According to Article 103 of the Road Traffic Law, concerning first-time offences, if a driver fails to slow down or stop to let a pedestrian cross a marked zebra crossing (or at a junction where the driver is changing directions), he or she faces an administrative fine ranging from 600 to 2,500 patacas. Repeat violators’ penalties scale up drastically if the driver is caught committing the same offence again within a specific legal timeframe. The fine increases to a range of 1,200 to 5,000 patacas. Crucially, repeat offenders are hit with an ancillary penalty – a mandatory suspension of their driving licence lasting anywhere from two months to six months.
Less than a month ago, a fatal car accident also occurred in the same district, in which a 10-year-old boy was run over and killed by a seven-seater while crossing a zebra crossing. That driver was from Taiwan. The tragedy triggered an unprecedented outpouring of grief and anger among residents. In response, the government pledged to fast-track amendments to the Road Traffic Law, which must be approved by the Legislative Assembly (AL) before passing into law.
This photo obtained from WeChat shows a woman attempting to assist a child hit by a car while using a zebra crossing in Macau’s northern district yesterday. The Post cannot independently verify the authenticity of the image.
