Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake has announced that the government is aiming to significantly reduce road accidents and the resulting fatalities by 2029, Ada Derana reported on Friday evening.
More than 2,700 people are killed each year in road accidents in Sri Lanka, the minister said, framing the figure as the baseline against which the 2029 target will be measured.
The announcement places road safety squarely on the Transport Ministry’s medium-term policy agenda. Rathnayake — who also holds the Highways and Urban Development portfolio — has been the public-facing voice on transport reform issues since assuming the cabinet position, including bus permit policy, the digital motor insurance card and the Sagarika derailment response in recent weeks.
The pledge follows a difficult Avurudu travel period: 44 people were killed and 357 injured in road accidents during the April 10–15 New Year window according to police data, including six deaths in the first day of the holiday rush alone. 80 people died in road and water-related incidents over the full New Year period.
The minister did not specify the policy mix that will be deployed to deliver the 2029 reduction target. Sri Lanka’s road-safety record has been driven primarily by motorcycle fatalities, drink-driving and pedestrian deaths on highways, with the National Council for Road Safety the lead agency on enforcement and education campaigns.
