Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake today clarified that families travelling with three children and two parents can install an additional seat belt in the middle of the rear seat, following a police warning that passengers travelling without an available seat belt on expressways could face legal action.
Deputy Inspector General of Police W.P.J. Senadheera, who is in charge of the Police Traffic Management and Road Safety Division, said vehicles using expressways should carry passengers according to the number of seats equipped with seat belts.
He said that if a rear seat has only two seat belts, only two passengers should travel in that seat.
“If a third passenger travels in the middle without a seat belt, police will take legal action against that passenger,” Senadheera said.
Responding to the issue in Parliament, Minister Rathnayake said the newly enforced seat belt regulations are intended to ensure passenger safety and do not prohibit families from travelling together.
“If a family has three children and two parents, they can install an extra seat belt in the middle of the back seat for one child. We just want seat belts in vehicles,” he said.
The Minister said vehicles already fitted with seat belts must have them worn by passengers, while vehicles without seat belts have been given a one-year period to install them. The requirement became mandatory on September 19.
Rathnayake also pointed to a recent 11-vehicle accident on an expressway involving school students, saying all passengers in the bus were wearing seat belts and the incident resulted only in minor injuries.
“All we are saying is fix a seat belt for every required seat. We have no power to say only three or four people can travel in a vehicle. What matters is that every passenger has a seat belt,” he said.
The Minister stressed that the regulation is aimed at improving passenger safety rather than restricting the number of people who can travel in a vehicle.
