Rs.25,000 fine for seven traffic offences

21 November 2016 05:27 pm Views - 37617

The Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to increase the fines to Rs.25,000 for seven traffic offences such as drunk driving and driving without a valid license, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said today.

The other offences warranting such a fine are overtaking from the left side, driving without a valid insurance, speeding, driving across the level crossings when gates closed, or assigning someone without a valid license to drive your vehicle.

However, the date of implementation has not been fixed.

Meanwhile, the minimum fine of Rs.2,500 for traffic offences has been rescinded.

The police have been advised to strictly enforce the law, Minister Siripala de Silva said.

The discussions had further revealed that more than 49,000 incidents were reported of vehicles driven under the influence of liquor and 50,000 of vehicles driven without a valid driving licence, he said.

Addressing the meeting, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the fines were increased and imposed to minimise road accidents and to protect the citizens.

There is no major objection to collecting money for the government through this process, Mr. Karunanayake said.

“The Finance Minister cannot reduce the number of accidents to a great extent, but he can reduce them to some extent. The minister has promised to install CCTV cameras at critical points on the road using the latest technology as in other countries,” Mr. de Silva said. (Chaturanga Pradeep)

Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva - Audio

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake - Audio