Sri Lankan motorists will face a suspension of up to one year for violating road traffic regulations and reckless driving under a new Driver Improvement Points (DIP) system to be implemented by end November, Motor Traffic Commissioner General S. H. Harischandra said. This system will be introduced to tackle motor traffic violations effectively and reduce [...]

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The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

Errant drivers face suspension of their driving licences

By Bandula Sirimanna
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Sri Lankan motorists will face a suspension of up to one year for violating road traffic regulations and reckless driving under a new Driver Improvement Points (DIP) system to be implemented by end November, Motor Traffic Commissioner General S. H. Harischandra said. This system will be introduced to tackle motor traffic violations effectively and reduce the number of repeat offenders, he added.

The department will give marks for different traffic offences and anyone exceeding a prescribed limit in the marks will have their licenses suspended.

Under this motorists who accumulated 18 to 23 points within a year would be given a warning by the Commissioner-General. Their licence would be cancelled in the case of those who exceed 23 points.

The Commissioner General said there is provision for the remission of the period of suspension for offenders following a successful completion of a training programme conducted by the department. Explaining the implementation of the DIP system, Mr. Harischandra noted that the Traffic Police will provide the offence, name and the driving licence number of motorist to the department in order to register the marks in their computer system. All these forms sent by the police will be scanned and stored in the department’s computer system, he added.

This method will be followed during the initial stages of the point system and later the Traffic Police and the department would be connected online. According to Police Department sources, the preliminary work of the online system is being formulated and the mode of implementing this system will be finalised soon.

Mr. Harischandra disclosed that the highest number of 10 points will be imposed on motorists for offences such as failure to stop after an accident on a highway and to furnish relevant information, failure to report an accident to the nearest police station or driving a vehicle that is likely to cause danger or harm to people, property or other vehicles.

Driving a motor vehicle on a highway recklessly or in a dangerous manner or at a dangerous speed will result in eight points. Some of the other offences liable for point accumulation will be for exceeding the prescribed speed limits on a highway (6 points); trying to overtake other vehicles without a clear view of the road ahead (6); failing to comply with oral directions or hand signals given by a police officer or a traffic warden (6); driving a motor vehicle which has emissions above the prescribed standards (6); using or permitting to use amplifying equipment in a vehicle with a volume of sound above the prescribed standards (6); failure to wear a seat belt or failing to ensure the front seat passenger wears a seat belt (3); and failure to give way at a zebra crossing while a pedestrian is at the crossing (6).
Mr. Harischandra, said, “Since independence, Sri Lanka only had the ‘fine’ system against drivers who commit errors on the road. They pay the fine and do the same mistake again. With the implementation of the new system, Sri Lanka will be able to control reckless drivers”.




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