Mandatory Seat Belts for All Highway Passengers Starts Today to Boost Safety

The government has made seat belts mandatory for all passengers traveling in vehicles on expressways, effective from today (20).

This measure has been introduced solely to ensure maximum safety for commuters traveling at high speeds. Sri Lanka’s expressways currently enforce a maximum speed limit of 100 km/h, making full seat belt compliance crucial to minimize risks and prevent severe injuries in the event of an accident.

Legal experts highlight that similar safety regulations are strictly enforced globally, where passengers failing to wear seat belts face heavy fines.

Despite the purely safety-oriented intent of this regulation—which brings no financial or material gain to the government—certain individuals and groups have launched misleading campaigns targeting the new law. Public criticism is mounting against these attempt to misinform citizens on safety regulations meant to protect human lives.

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