The mandatory seat belt rule on Sri Lanka’s expressways will be strictly enforced from September 19, with no further extensions, Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake told Parliament on Tuesday.
Both front-seat and rear-seat passengers in vehicles travelling on expressways are required to wear seat belts.
Why it took this long
The Minister was candid that the rule has been on the books far longer than it has been enforced. “This rule was introduced over a year ago, but its implementation was delayed due to practical reasons, as some used vehicles were not installed with seat belts,” he said.
Implementation has been postponed several times, with vehicle owners given repeated grace periods to install or repair belts. An earlier deadline expired on June 19. “Since it has been over a year, we have now decided to strictly implement this rule from September 19,” Rathnayake said, adding that no further excuses or extensions would be granted after that date.
He confirmed the rule also applies to school vans travelling on expressways.
A second measure: three-monthly roadworthiness tests
Rathnayake used the same answer to announce a broader vehicle safety requirement. From the end of this year, all passenger transport vehicles including buses and vans will have to undergo a roadworthiness test every three months, or after every 5,000 kilometres travelled.
He tied the measure directly to crash causation. “This is to ensure that vehicles transporting passengers are in good driving condition. We have observed that some of the major accidents that have occurred were due to faults in vans and buses, including brake and tyre issues,” he said.
Context
The announcement follows a run of expressway incidents, including a car that struck the central barrier at Dodangoda on the Southern Expressway last week.
Update, 8 September: the roadworthiness detail
Later reporting of the Minister’s remarks filled in most of what was missing on the inspection regime.
Rathnayake said a gazette containing the proposal has been presented to Parliament for approval. That matches the week’s order paper, which listed orders under Extraordinary Gazettes No. 2489/22 and 2493/19 for debate on Tuesday — the roadworthiness regulations and the seat belt extension respectively. Cabinet cleared both for Parliament in early August.
What it covers. Passenger buses, school and staff transport, office vans and vehicles hired for trips or long-distance excursions. Private vehicles used only for personal travel are exempt.
What it costs. The Minister put the fee at roughly Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2,000, describing the check as considerably cheaper than the standard annual fitness inspection.
Who does it. Any technician holding an NVQ Level 4 certification will be permitted to carry out the checks at registered garages — which the Minister presented as a source of new employment in the automotive trade.
Why. Rathnayake said investigations into major crashes, including the fatal accidents at Ella and at Garandi Ella in Kothmale, identified brake failure as a primary cause. In one case investigators found a vehicle whose brakes had been closed off on one side for an entire year; police have recently impounded vehicles with brake lines improvised from garden watering hose.
Still unstated: the penalty for non-compliance, and a start date more precise than “the end of the year.”
Update, 9 September: the instrument is named, and the first inspection results are in
The Department of Motor Traffic has now put its own Commissioner General behind the scheme, and the numbers from the first field inspections are worse than the Minister’s account implied.
The legal instrument. Cabinet has approved presenting the Motor Vehicles (Inspection) Regulations No. 03 of 2026 to Parliament for approval, establishing a formal system for testing the roadworthiness of vehicles used for passenger transport and other special services. That names the instrument the gazettes were carrying.
Who is running it. Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic, Vice Marshal (Retd.) Thushara Idunil Fernando, said legal provisions will be introduced to make the fitness tests mandatory for passenger transport vehicles. He restated the interval as a full service every 5,000 kilometres or three months, and put the maximum charge for the test at Rs. 2,000 — the top of the Minister’s Rs. 1,500–2,000 range, and the first firm ceiling given. Tests are to be carried out at registered garages.
What the first inspections found. Two field exercises have already been run, and both suggest a fleet in poor condition:
- At Bastian Mawatha, 136 passenger buses were inspected. Two were issued prohibitory orders and 107 were issued maintenance orders after being found unsuitable for road use. That is 109 of 136 buses — roughly 80 per cent — failing at a Colombo terminus.
- In the Kilinochchi District on 7 September, 103 vehicles were inspected and 31 were issued maintenance orders, a failure rate near 30 per cent.
The gap between the two rates is itself unexplained: it may reflect a different vehicle mix, a different inspection standard, or simply which operators use which terminus. Neither the Department nor the report accounts for it.
Officials said regular inspection and maintenance are essential to ensure passenger vehicles on public roads are safe and roadworthy.
Still unanswered. The penalty for failing an inspection remains unstated, as does what happens to the 107 buses issued maintenance orders — whether they were taken off the road pending repair or allowed to continue. The report also does not say when the Bastian Mawatha inspection took place.
