Near miss for ‘reckless’ boy racers on Hong Kong road sparks calls for action

Dashcam footage of two young cyclists speeding down a mountain road in Hong Kong and one almost getting hit by a car has sparked calls for greater enforcement of traffic rules to tackle reckless riders and for helmets to be made mandatory.

The dashcam video, from a private vehicle heading up a winding road, shows two helmetless boys on road bikes suddenly appearing from around a bend.

The clip, taken on Saturday afternoon at an undisclosed location, shows one of the boys crossing double white lines on the road into the opposite lane and almost colliding with the oncoming vehicle.

Lawmaker Dr David Lam Tzit-yuen said on Sunday that such reckless behaviour often led to serious injuries and even death.

He pointed to Bride’s Pool Road in Tai Po, a notorious hotspot for illegal racing, saying accidents took place there almost every day before a crackdown by authorities, with cyclists admitted to hospital for fractures, internal bleeding and head injuries.

“It boils down to a matter of attitude in the cyclists. They think they are adverse to risk and underestimate the danger of their actions,” said Lam, a proponent of legislation to make helmets mandatory for cyclists.