The Transport Department on Friday said it will implement a smart highway system at Ting Kau Bridge by the end of this month.

It said the system has the ability to detect traffic accidents, and make appropriate arrangements to ensure a smooth traffic flow.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, Assistant Commissioner for Transport (Strategic Studies) Leung Sai-ho said the Automatic Incident Detection System can notify staff at the Tsing Ma Control Area in 10 seconds if it notices any abnormalities.

"In cases in which a car suddenly stops moving, or slows down, or drives in the opposite direction, or objects fall on to the road, the system can analyse footage and deduce that a traffic incident has happened and tell our staff to act," he said.

"If we do not have such systems, we will have to detect incidents through the human eye, which would take minutes," he added.

Leung said on-site staff may open up the hard shoulder of Ting Kau Bridge southbound to ease traffic flow, along with lane control signals and variable message signs to allow vehicles to pass by.

He added message boards have already been installed along the road, aiming to provide real-time information to drivers.

The system will be in place on December 29 for a one-month trial.

The department said a mid-term review would be conducted in around six months if the scheme runs smoothly.

Leung said the department would analyse traffic data collected and fine tune its implementation of the system.

Wesley Wan, honorary life president of the Hong Kong Automobile Association, told RTHK that the city's drivers are familiar with having variable message boards on highways.

"They [drivers] are already used to the notice board and the electronic notice on the highway. But I've noticed many times the government puts on some road safety message instead of the road information on the spot. They should inform motorists of the real-time information on the highway instead of just a road safety message," he said.

Wan also said the one-month trial period may be too short for data to be collected.

"They [the government] spent a lot of time to install the system for this trial. So my question is, why just a one month trial? If we are lucky that there's no accident happening during this month, then we'll have no data. So I think the trial, with all this preparation work, the trial should be longer," he said.