Seatbelts Compulsory

[Le Sabre]

Wearing seatbelts in a motor vehicle will soon become compulsory, and those who fail to do so will be liable for a fine not exceeding Rs. 2,000, under the new Motor Traffic Act passed in Parliament on Friday.

The seatbelt ruling will apply only to new motor vehicles that are equipped with seatbelts, said Department of Motor Traffic commissioner B. Wijeratne.

Under the Motor Traffic (Amendment) Act of 2007, users of motor vehicles may be fined for causing air and noise pollution.

The new laws also cover the procedure for obtaining a revenue licence. According to the Act, revenue licences for motor vehicles may be issued by a licensing authority only after a certificate of fitness and an emissions certificate have been issued.

The new laws also stipulate that no person may manufacture, assemble, modify or change the construction of a motor vehicle in Sri Lanka except with the prior written permission of the Commissioner General.

The law says that the motor vehicle used should not cause danger, discomfort, annoyance or harm to any person in the vehicle or any person using the road, danger to any vehicle on the road, damage to any property on or adjourning the road.

Commissioner Mr. Wijeratne said the previous Motor Traffic Act goes back to 1951. “During the ’50s’ there were only about 80,000 vehicles on our roads. Today we have 3.2 million vehicles. It was definitely time for major amendments to the Motor Traffic Act,” he said.

[Jayathu]

Wearing seatbelts in a motor vehicle will soon become compulsory, and those who fail to do so will be liable for a fine not exceeding Rs. 2,000, under the new Motor Traffic Act passed in Parliament on Friday.

The seatbelt ruling will apply only to new motor vehicles that are equipped with seatbelts, said Department of Motor Traffic commissioner B. Wijeratne.

Very good info... Wearing setbelts is something I always push for, even though some people are really hard to convince.. (specially my fiance ) Have to send her this info very soon..

Wonder if there are four people in the car not wearing seat belts, would they fine Rs. 2000 for each person..

[Velocity]

The new laws also stipulate that no person may manufacture, assemble, modify or change the construction of a motor vehicle in Sri Lanka except with the prior written permission of the Commissioner General.

thank god....

i hope raping of vehicles will stop

[dinosh]

Good to hear this finally!!!

Commissioner Mr. Wijeratne said the previous Motor Traffic Act goes back to 1951. “During the ’50s’ there were only about 80,000 vehicles on our roads. Today we have 3.2 million vehicles. It was definitely time for major amendments to the Motor Traffic Act,” he said.

Shouldn't they think the same way on the import taxing policies for vehicles...?

[Arc Angel]

How far do you guys think this will affect kits and conversions?

Edited October 27, 2008 by Arc Angel

[charitha19]

conversions i am sure this will affect.. body kits not sure.. looks like i will have to remove my HKS backbox... paid hevalily for that.... or i can just muffel the sound a bit..

[Arc Angel]

coversions are the undetectable ones. Bodykits are clearly visible. You think the cops are gonna know the difference between a 4G15 and a 4G63 engine?

Edited October 27, 2008 by Arc Angel

[Pericles]

The seatbelt ruling will apply only to new motor vehicles that are equipped with seatbelts, said Department of Motor Traffic commissioner B. Wijeratne.

Ahhh .... Users of the most road worthy vehicles with better safety must wear it, but old people running old death traps don't. Oh, well, I guess they think the old ones can't go fast enough to crash and cause damage. Three wheelers get away too. Would love to see a three wheel jockey in a belt :)Put a bucket seat and a 4 point harness on a threewheeler

Is it just me, or is this worded to say, you need to wear it if you have it? What happens if you remove it from the car?

I wear the belt anyway, and ask my passengers to do the same, so no issues for me, but I really hate it when its discriminated like this. Should apply evenly. And who's gonna judge whats a "new" motor vehicle?

[jaga]

Very good info... Wearing setbelts is something I always push for, even though some people are really hard to convince.. (specially my fiance ) Have to send her this info very soon..

Wonder if there are four people in the car not wearing seat belts, would they fine Rs. 2000 for each person..

Same here. It is really hard to convince my wife untill she get some experiwnce. At last 2000 Rs will teach her.

[GihanFX]

How far do you guys think this will affect kits and conversions?

no, not even a bit, trust me Arcy this is Sri Lanka......... Money, Money

[charitha19]

Ahhh .... Users of the most road worthy vehicles with better safety must wear it, but old people running old death traps don't. Oh, well, I guess they think the old ones can't go fast enough to crash and cause damage. Three wheelers get away too. Would love to see a three wheel jockey in a belt :)Put a bucket seat and a 4 point harness on a threewheeler

Is it just me, or is this worded to say, you need to wear it if you have it? What happens if you remove it from the car?

I wear the belt anyway, and ask my passengers to do the same, so no issues for me, but I really hate it when its discriminated like this. Should apply evenly. And who's gonna judge whats a "new" motor vehicle?

as with everything else this also has its loopholes.. because the people who ammends these things havent even passed thier eighth grade....

[MasterDon]

erm how will this effect classics that doesn't have seat belts?

[Supra_Natural]

Does anyone know where a full copy of the amended act can be found? I'd like to go through all the changes, Have they officially been passed yet?

[charitha19]

erm how will this effect classics that doesn't have seat belts?

well i guess they are out of the equation...

[Pericles]

erm how will this effect classics that doesn't have seat belts?

The seatbelt ruling will apply only to new motor vehicles that are equipped with seatbelts, said Department of Motor Traffic commissioner B. Wijeratne.

[MasterDon]

thank you....I must learn to read

[Sha7]

Same here. It is really hard to convince my wife untill she get some experiwnce. At last 2000 Rs will teach her.

Machan don't forget to buy a dinner packet when u go home today. Thats for your own safty in any case of ur wife read ur comment (or one of her female friends)

[Jayathu]

Machan don't forget to buy a dinner packet when u go home today. Thats for your own safty in any case of ur wife read ur comment (or one of her female friends)

Good advice Sha7.. No worries for me though cuz I still find my own bread..

Anyway don't think this seat belt rule will be practically put to use since as soon as the cops stop you and they come around to have a peek everybody will be nicely wearing their seat belts as per the saying "only takes two seconds" to buckle up..

But I really appreciate this rule cos I have experienced many cases when the seat belts saved lives specially while I was in Europe.. Sri Lankans should learn, and learn fast..

[The Don]

Ahhh .... Users of the most road worthy vehicles with better safety must wear it, but old people running old death traps don't. Oh, well, I guess they think the old ones can't go fast enough to crash and cause damage. Three wheelers get away too. Would love to see a three wheel jockey in a belt :)Put a bucket seat and a 4 point harness on a threewheeler

Is it just me, or is this worded to say, you need to wear it if you have it? What happens if you remove it from the car?

I wear the belt anyway, and ask my passengers to do the same, so no issues for me, but I really hate it when its discriminated like this. Should apply evenly. And who's gonna judge whats a "new" motor vehicle?

I think even classics should be fitted with seat belts. The law should apply to all vehicles not some. But people with vehicles not fitted with seat belts should be given a grace period, say 3 years or so to fall in line. Especially with a few high speed motorways coming in to operation in the next couple of years this becomes a very relevant issue.

Threee wheelers .......hmm ..... not sure what can be done about those !

[mazdaspeed]

The law says that the motor vehicle used should not cause danger, discomfort, annoyance or harm to any person in the vehicle or any person using the road, danger to any vehicle on the road, damage to any property on or adjourning the road.

Does this mean we are going to see less 3 wheelers ? Fully agree with the seat belts

[MasterDon]

I think even classics should be fitted with seat belts. The law should apply to all vehicles not some.

umm have you seen classics with seatbelts attched,in any country?would you like me to add air bags as well...?

i'd like to see you go and ask the owners of the claasics that were on display on the show yesterday to attach seatbelts to thier cars

i know this is for our own safety,but this is like making mini skirt wearing mandatory and asking the pope to wear one as well...

btw I'm not gonna attach any modification to mine just to make some dumb cop happy,I'd rather let them rot in the garage...

Edited October 27, 2008 by HelRazor

[The Don]

umm have you seen classics with seatbelts attched,in any country?would you like me to add air bags as well...?

i'd like to see you go and ask the owners of the claasics that were on display on the show yesterday to attach seatbelts to thier cars

i know this is for our own safety,but this is like making mini skirt wearing mandatory and asking the pope to wear one as well...

btw I'm not gonna attach any modification to mine just to make some dumb cop happy,I'd rather let them rot in the garage...

HelRazor, I can understand your emotions on this matter, but I can guarantee at least in the UK any vehicle on the road will not get an MOT to run without seat belts fitted in. There is a reason for their existence and the fact it became standard later on, or the fact it will involve some modification to existing vehicles do not justify not installing them.

Of course the type of seat belts fitted there is some flexibility on the matter. Some vehicles only have lap type seat belts fitted (like the air crafts, not self restraining ones).

I think you might remember there was a time when things like side indicators, double side mirrors were not standard on all vehicles and had to be retro fitted to some vehicles as it became the law. The same happened in this country when unleaded fuel became standard, and tougher emission laws were introduced and vehicles had to be retro fitted with catalytic converters and so on to meet the emission standards.

I'm sure there will be a lot of opposition from a lot of parties resistant to change their ways, but that is no reason to be fearful of change when it serves a purpose.

Please don't take comments personally HelRazor, People will have differing views and a different point of view. As adults we should have the ability to have an objective dialogue without going down to the level of our politicians !

[dhp]

this is a good idea in general but as usual implementation will be an island-style-clusterf#$k..

In most countries, public busses are exempt from mandatory seatbelt requirements because there are some other measures to prevent injuries (padded seatbacks etc.) but how will this work with local busses with the (forehead-cracking) hand rail on top of the seat back? Then there is the whole other issue of all the ppl that are standing in the bus... what about them?

Then there are all the cargo vans which are converted to carry passengers.. You can attach belts to the B, C and D pillars but its going to be hard to come up with an effective seatbelt for a middle (when u have 3 across) seat.

[MasterDon]

don,change is good,if properly implemented with a touch of common practical knowledge,but we live in sri lanka(don't get me wrong,I love this country),where cops don't know anything about cars,do you think they will understand difference between various kinds of seat belts?do you think they will understand the difference between a kitted civic and a low riding ferrari?

ahhh if it was only easy as you say...few people understand the complications of adding a accessory to a car which is behind it's time,and still keep the car original as possible,which is the whole point of owning a classic.I'm sure most classic car owners will wince at the possibility of a scratch on the body let alone drilling a hole on their baby,bear in mind that not all cars have side verticle pillars...

I'm all for seat belt safety,they do save lives,but your point of saying "hey let's force this on the classics as well" as if they were a major threat to road safety without proper knowledge or expierience is not right...

Thankfully the government hasn't implemented this rule to cars that come without seat belts so I can rest easy

Edited October 27, 2008 by HelRazor

[mazdaspeed]

I'm all for seat belt safety,they do save lives,but your point of saying "hey let's force this on the classics as well" as if they were a major threat to road safety without proper knowledge or expierience is not right...

Road safety is a serious issue and seatbelts will help - at the same time we also need to look at :

Proper driving on the road – having proper driving schools who teach the basics as well as the road sense

Using signals when u turn

Having all rear lights working – specially break lights

Common street ethics for most drivers who don’t know a hoot about driving – but that has to be brought in at the time of driving lessons

Bus buggers – need to be disciplined

Hay the list goes on ------------- but seatbelts is a good begging but there can be limits