The Cabinet of Ministers has cleared two sets of motor traffic regulations for parliamentary approval, one creating a formal roadworthiness testing regime for passenger vehicles and the other extending the grace period for fitting seatbelts in vehicles that use the expressway network.

Both proposals were submitted by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development.

Roadworthiness testing

The Motor Vehicles (Inspection) Regulations No. 03 of 2026 establish a mandatory inspection mechanism covering passenger transport services, school transport services, office transport services and hired special trips. The regulations were published under Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2489/22 dated May 19, 2026, and were made under the Motor Vehicles Act (Chapter 203).

The move follows investigations by Motor Vehicle Inspectors into several recent serious road accidents, which found that technical defects in the operating condition of vehicles had contributed to many of the incidents, the Daily Mirror reported. The National Transport Commission, the Provincial Road Passenger Transport Authorities and the Sri Lanka Transport Board identified the need for the new inspection regime.

It follows a separate push by the National Council for Road Safety, which in July said passenger buses would have to undergo a roadworthiness inspection after every 5,000 kilometres of operation.

Seatbelt deadline pushed to September

The second decision covers the concession granted to owners of vehicles that were not fitted with seatbelts by the manufacturer. That grace period expired on June 19, 2026, and was extended by a further three months to September 19 following requests from vehicle owners and other stakeholders.

The extension was made through Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2493/19 dated June 17, 2026, amending the Motor Traffic (Expressways) Regulations No. 2 of 2011. Cabinet has now approved presenting the amended regulations to Parliament — a ratification step, as the extension itself has been in force since the gazette was issued.

The underlying rule, introduced under the Motor Traffic Act, requires occupants of all seats in vehicles using expressways to wear seatbelts. Enforcement resumed on June 20 after the original retrofit deadline lapsed, and police fined the drivers of 332 vehicles on the first day.

Sources: Daily Mirror, Daily Mirror, Ada Derana.