Seat belts mandatory for passengers of all vehicles on expressways from September

The Ministry of Transport says wearing seat belts will be made mandatory to all passengers of light vehicles travelling on expressways from August 1, 2025.

Meanwhile, wearing seat belts will also be mandatory to all passengers of all vehicles on expressways from September 1, 2025.

Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake also confirmed the directive while speaking to media this morning (01) during an inspection tour at the Colombo Central Bus Stand.

The Minister said that a large number of lives are lost due to road accidents and that this decision was taken to prevent such situations.

He noted accordingly it will be mandatory for passengers in the rear seats of light vehicles traveling on expressways to wear seat belts.

Although wearing seat belts had been mandatory since 2011, and the law has been enforced for passengers of light vehicles, drivers and passengers of buses and lorries have mostly been exempt, according to the Minister.

However, from today, wearing seat belts will also be mandatory for drivers of buses and lorries, the Minister added.

He emphasized that this is not merely a legal enforcement effort, but part of a broader government initiative aimed at minimizing the damage caused by accidents.

The National Transport Commission had previously announced that starting today, it would be mandatory for all bus drivers to wear safety seat belts.

NTC Chairman, Engineer P.A. Chandrapala stated that strict legal action would be taken against drivers who fail to comply with the directive.

According to the provisions of the Motor Traffic Act, the law requiring vehicle drivers to wear safety seat belts has been in effect since October 1, 2011.

Although the law was gazetted, many drivers failed to adhere to it, resulting in an increase in road accidents over time, the NTC Chairman asserted.