Minister of Transport and Highways, Bimal Rathnayake, says steps will be taken to strictly enforce seat belt regulations for buses soon.
Speaking during a meeting of the Galle District Transport Committee, Minister Rathnayake said the licences of buses failing to comply with this law will be revoked.
“Each year, around 2,350 people die, and approximately 6,000 suffer critical injuries. That’s why the Ministry of Transport has introduced a Road Safety Plan for the years 2025 and 2026. Under this plan, we will impose a seat belt regulation. We will issue the relevant gazette. Although the law has been in place since 2011, no one really pays attention. People use highways without wearing seat belts,” he said.
Minister Bimal Rathnayake said these measures are being introduced to reduce the annual death toll from 2,300 to below 2,000.
“We’ve set September 30th as the deadline for enforcement across all expressways. As I recall, the regulation applies to passengers as well. Most buses are already equipped with seat belts, so the law will be enforced strictly. Failure to comply will result in either the buses being banned or their licenses being cancelled,” he said. (Newswire)