Hong Kong Taxi Written Test common mistakes
Hong Kong Taxi Written Test · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating similarly named places such as 'Tsim Sha Tsui' and 'Tsim Sha Tsui East' as interchangeable when choosing a route or answering a location question.
Place names share a prefix and are often studied from flat lists or maps without landmark context, so candidates match on the first words only.
What to do instead
Group locations by nearby landmarks, MTR stations and major road connectors, then practise origin-to-destination pairs aloud until each district's boundary and approach roads are distinct.
Choosing the geographically shortest line on a map as the best taxi route without checking one-way streets, tunnel restrictions or prohibited turns.
Candidates revise using distance-based map reading rather than road-hierarchy and traffic-flow reading, so they ignore the constraints a driver actually faces.
What to do instead
For each major pair of locations, learn the legal approach roads and the main one-way or restricted-turn traps, and compare the shortest-distance route with the normal licensed route.
At a roundabout, giving way to traffic approaching from the left or stopping when already on the roundabout.
Candidates confuse Hong Kong's left-hand traffic rule with the give-way direction used in right-hand traffic countries, or they treat the roundabout as an uncontrolled junction.
What to do instead
Memorise that vehicles on the roundabout come from the right and have priority; practise lane choice by exit so you enter in the correct lane and give way only to traffic already circulating from the right.
Entering a yellow box junction when the exit road is blocked, then stopping inside the box.
Drivers follow the vehicle ahead into the box during slow traffic because they watch the car in front rather than the space beyond the junction.
What to do instead
Before entering the box, identify a clear exit space on the far side; if the exit is not clear, wait before the box even if the light is green and the vehicle ahead has moved.
Crossing double white lines to overtake a slow-moving vehicle because the road ahead looks clear.
Candidates remember 'overtake only when safe' as a general rule and treat double white lines as advisory rather than prohibitive markings.
What to do instead
Learn the marking hierarchy: double white lines are not to be crossed except for a stationary obstruction or as specifically permitted; wait behind the slow vehicle until the marking changes.
Refusing a hire because the destination is short, inconvenient or across a harbour.
Candidates assume a taxi driver may choose profitable hires, rather than understanding that refusal without a lawful excuse is a regulatory offence.
What to do instead
Learn the limited lawful grounds for refusing a hire and the duty to accept a passenger who is fit and able to pay; treat short or inconvenient destinations as normal hires.
Picking up or setting down passengers at bus stops, bus-only bays or other places where taxi stopping is prohibited.
Candidates see other vehicles stopping briefly and assume any roadside stop is acceptable, without checking the restriction signs or stand markings.
What to do instead
Use designated taxi stands or legal stopping places, and read the sign and road marking before stopping; if the location is restricted, move to the next lawful point rather than stopping on the restriction.
Refusing to carry a passenger because the passenger is accompanied by a guide dog.
Candidates apply a general 'no animals' habit without knowing the legal duty to accept assistance dogs and the conditions attached to carrying them.
What to do instead
Learn the assistance-dog rules: a guide dog accompanying a passenger must be accepted and carried without an animal surcharge; distinguish this from ordinary pets, which are handled under the normal animal rules.
Not resetting and starting the meter when the passenger boards, or leaving the meter running after the journey ends.
Rushed handovers and long queues at stands lead drivers to start the meter late or forget to stop it, and candidates underestimate how often meter operation is tested.
What to do instead
Build a fixed sequence: confirm destination, reset meter, start meter on hire, stop meter at destination, then calculate any lawful surcharges before stating the total.
Failing to issue a receipt on request, or issuing one that omits the taxi registration number, date, meter fare or added surcharges.
Candidates treat the receipt as optional paperwork and do not memorise the required contents, so they cannot recognise an incomplete receipt in a question.
What to do instead
Learn the required receipt details and the duty to provide a receipt on request; practise writing a complete sample receipt showing registration number, date, meter fare, surcharges and total.