Govt to strictly enforce seat belt law from October – Transport Minister

Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake says steps will be taken to strictly enforce the seat belt regulations in the near future.

While participating in the Galle District Transport Committee meeting, he stated that measures would be taken to revoke the permits granted to owners of buses that do not comply with the law.

The Minister noted that around 2,350 people are killed while 6,000 sustain serious injuries due to motor accidents annually. Therefore, he noted that the government has presented a ‘Road Safety Plan’ for 2025 and 2026 through the Ministry of Transport.

“Under that, a seat belt plan will be imposed. In any case, we are publishing the gazette. Even though the law has been in effect since 2011, no one seems to care. People drive on the expressway without wearing seat belts,” the Minister said.

The Minister further commented:

“We believe we can reduce the number of deaths from 2,300 to 2,000. We have set September 30 as the deadline for all expressways. As far as I remember, we are advising passengers to wear seat belts, because most buses already have them. So we will definitely enforce the law and either ban the buses or cancel their licenses.”

Meanwhile, speaking to media after the conclusion of the committee meeting, Minister Bimal Rathnayake stated that the heads of the Railway Department are responsible for the ongoing crises.