The mandatory seat belt regulation for vehicles travelling on Sri Lanka’s expressways came into effect today (20), but authorities have granted an additional three-month grace period for vehicles that were not originally manufactured with seat belts.
The National Council for Road Safety said that while the law will now be enforced, owners of older vehicles lacking factory-installed seat belts will be given extra time to comply with the new requirements.
Under the regulation, seat belts are mandatory for drivers as well as all passengers travelling on expressways. The requirement applies to passengers seated in both the front and rear seats of vehicles.
An initial grace period for implementation ended yesterday (19), after which authorities had announced that strict enforcement would begin from today.
However, National Council for Road Safety Chairman Manjula Kularatne said that vehicles not equipped with seat belts at the time of manufacture will be allowed a further three months before enforcement measures are applied.
