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Heavy traffic offence fines later down the road
View(s):It will be two to three months before heavy fines against traffic offences approved on Thursday come into effect.
The secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, Nihal Somaweera said the measures have to be sent to the Legal Draftsman’s Department for necessary amendments and the draft bill will be presented to Parliament. The fines will become law only after lawmakers pass the bill.
Fines for major offences such as drunk driving, have been increased up to Rs 25,000. Fines for minor offences have also been raised.
Mr Somaweera explained that major offences such as driving without a valid driving licence, employing a person without a valid driving license to drive your vehicle, driving without insurance, drunk driving, and entering a railway crossing, will incur a fine of Rs 25,000.
Additional fines will be imposed on speed limits ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs.25,000. A driver using a mobile phone on the road will face a fine of Rs 2,000.The chairman of the National Council for Road Safety Sisira Kodagoda said the main reason for the heavy fines is the rate of traffic accidents. “We have not increased spot fines for sometime now and to curb the load of accidents reported every day due to reckless driving and many other reasons we have decided to do so,’’ he said.
Fines increased to curb the rate of traffic accidents, says Chairman National Council for Road Safety
