Ministry will slap enhanced traffic fines

Rs.25,000 for 7 traffic offences 

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera 

In a bid to control road fatalities, the Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry has planned of enhancing fines up to Rs.25,000 for seven traffic offences, State Minister Ashok Abeysinghe said yesterday.  

“On a previous occasion, the ministry planned to do the same but managed to increase traffic fines only up to Rs.3,000. Although there was a significant decline in the number of road accidents when this topic cropped up, the situation changed when fines did not soar as expected. Road accidents kill at least eight people daily. Discussions are ongoing to increase fines for seven traffic offences including drunk driving, driving without a valid licence, reckless driving and driving through level crossings. We hope this initiative will reduce the number of road accidents,” he said while speaking at the committee stage debate of the ministry.