Road Rules

[Le Sabre]

Stick to lanes

The Colombo city traffic police has urged motorists to use only the relevant lanes while driving in the Colombo city area, in an attempt to limit accidents and reduce city traffic.

Police media spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said that a new programme to create awareness among the public will continue for a considerable time period and thereafter the law will be strictly enforced against drivers.

“The police will first create awareness but we will not impose fines. Strict police action will taken against careless drivers after the awareness programme is concluded,” he said.

[Le Sabre]

Looks like the authorities are trying to get the drivers used to proper lane use before the expressways are open to the public.

Hope it works out well.

[MkX]

If the teach these things to small children we will be able to see a change after few decades

[Croozer]

Leylands, Tri-shaws & Bikes ?

Edited September 6, 2010 by EVO_Croozer

[Chris0628]

Hey guys... have u heard the ads with regards to driving on Y@S FM ?... Ads abt Donkey, Goat, Baboon....etc ?... i think those are just awesome

[SeanD]

I'm sure this will be just as successful as tinted windows, seatbelt laws, and other traffic police "flavours of the month"... I even noticed some barely legible sign boards (in Sinhala and English only) kept near junctions. When will they learn to make permanent and more visible those boards as well as the "one way" boards in and around galle road and duplication road? Sure, lane discipline is vital, but are we really gonna see them enforce this on buses?

[harshansenadhir]

I'm sure this will be just as successful as tinted windows, seatbelt laws, and other traffic police "flavours of the month"... I even noticed some barely legible sign boards (in Sinhala and English only) kept near junctions. When will they learn to make permanent and more visible those boards as well as the "one way" boards in and around galle road and duplication road? Sure, lane discipline is vital, but are we really gonna see them enforce this on buses?

well said and more than making drivers free way ready, this is simply trying to increase govt. income.

[heavyD]

Sure, lane discipline is vital, but are we really gonna see them enforce this on buses?

I sure hope so.

[YALA]

agreed with the increase in income they will probably rip every potential vehicle using there baseless and inconsistent application of the so called law....it would be nice to actually drive witout a trishaw or a bike cutting you off and giving you road rage but that would be expecting too much right now..i think the bottlenecks on our road network need to be taken out before something like this is implemented..for example the vilasitha junction and bridge right after and next to havlock city...

[Ripper]

Hey guys... have u heard the ads with regards to driving on Y@S FM ?... Ads abt Donkey, Goat, Baboon....etc ?... i think those are just awesome

yeah...love em done by DSI and i've been trying to find the agency who had done it with little luck.

very well produced radio spots

We too tried a similar thing for a client of ours sometime back but this is much better...

I'm surprised a local client ran these...specially the baboon one since they talk a bout why a baboons backside is red

On topic...

It would be impossible to get people to stick to lanes if some sort of fining thing is not carried out...

sometime ago threewheelers were banned from using the right lane and fined if they broke the rule.

worked for a while and then the cops just let it go...

They should also fine slow moving vehicles that hog the right lane...

today in the morning i had a tough time passing a batta van and a maruti that was hogging the right lane and doing a cool 30kmh or so

discipline wont come from mere awareness....there have to be financial penalties! that's the only way these things would work!

also i do hope they do something about them mopeds!

No license, no plates and a donkey on top without any idea about road rules... to me...they are the biggest curse when driving in colombo and suburbs! And the best is even when they knock on you and damage your vehicle...nothing can be done against them in traffic laws!

[esdeez]

From December all mopeds will require registation.....

But these cops should dicipline themslves first!

A big thing is these convoys we see, who blatantly ignore all road rules whatsoever with drivers who a barely trained in high speed evasive driving.... Or any driving tbh

Today on the Galle road I saw an incident in which an ambulance following a defender (both part of the V.I.P convoy) crashed into the defender in front.... I burst out laughing.... Seriously, its just a joke....

Edited September 6, 2010 by esdeez

[Devinda_Z]

From December all mopeds will require registation.....

But these cops should dicipline themslves first!

A big thing is these convoys we see, who blatantly ignore all road rules whatsoever with drivers who a barely trained in high speed evasive driving.... Or any driving tbh

Today on the Galle road I saw an incident in which an ambulance following a defender (both part of the V.I.P convoy) crashed into the defender in front.... I burst out laughing.... Seriously, its just a joke....

they seem to be doing there fair share of crashing these days!

on Sunday saw a Defender which had flipped itself over after having rear ended a Nissan Sunny FB15 on Flower Rd just outside Cotton Collection !

its had literally flipped head over heels - the poor Sunny had no rear end of mid section worth talking about left

[SeanD]

Noticing an increased amount of "fully tinted" Defenders (don't think they have anything to do with politicos, but I've no idea where they've emerged from lately) tearing along the Colombo roads in the last couple of months. Seems like being in a Defender for some people is much like driving a bus or a threewheeler as far as road discipline goes.

[Croozer]

well said and more than making drivers free way ready, this is simply trying to increase govt. income.

I'm sure the intro of lane discipline / license for mopeds are all 'soon to become' revenue generators for the fcuking cops - the buggers might be almost drooling over

[Ripper]

From December all mopeds will require registation.....

But these cops should discipline themselves first!

A big thing is these convoys we see, who blatantly ignore all road rules whatsoever with drivers who a barely trained in high speed evasive driving.... Or any driving tbh

Today on the Galle road I saw an incident in which an ambulance following a defender (both part of the V.I.P convoy) crashed into the defender in front.... I burst out laughing.... Seriously, its just a joke....

shaa...very nice! I'd be the happiest to see them mopeds folks brought under normal traffic law system.

those jokers were enjoying scraping cars and riding with absolute impunity all these years :)

sadly i doubt the convoy thing would come to an end any time soon if at all ever.

Politicians can and always have gotten away with almost anything and there's nothing to change that fact.

look at the good doctor and the tree tying incident no evidence to prove he tied the man to a tree when the whole world saw it on tv with the doctor ordering his goons tie the poor chap

Once a speeding convoy ran the green light in flower road as i was coming from the ladies college side doing decent speed myself...managed to brake hard, swerve and avoid hitting the lead defender. bloody jackasses!!! It's good to hear them screwing up on their own and bashing each other!

And on a side note... my first crash was rear ending a PSD escort cruiser!!

they seem to be doing there fair share of crashing these days!

on Sunday saw a Defender which had flipped itself over after having rear ended a Nissan Sunny FB15 on Flower Rd just outside Cotton Collection !

its had literally flipped head over heels - the poor Sunny had no rear end of mid section worth talking about left

Hope there were no serious injuries to the folks in the sunny.... and i hope it wasn't the case for the idiots in the landie

Noticing an increased amount of "fully tinted" Defenders (don't think they have anything to do with politicos, but I've no idea where they've emerged from lately) tearing along the Colombo roads in the last couple of months. Seems like being in a Defender for some people is much like driving a bus or a threewheeler as far as road discipline goes.

yeah mate...i too have noticed quite a few folks pretending to be V*P escort chaps and drive like fidiots!!!

even cops don't stop em...

I'm sure the intro of lane discipline / license for mopeds are all 'soon to become' revenue generators for the fcuking cops - the buggers might be almost drooling over

machang revenue generator or not these things have to be done! at least that my opinion!

how many people ride mopeds without proper safety gear even! so many teenagers ride them in the streets without any understanding of the basics...

how many times have you noticed a traffic pile up behind a slower moving vehicle on the right lane?

how many times you'd have to brake hard to avoid a j***a$$ who changes lanes without using signals and giving enough time for you to adjust?

these damn things have to fixed and if the cops make a buck in doing so...i don't give a rats butt!!!

[esdeez]

With the whole moped licensing system, the fact is, it will just serve to generate more income for the government. The benifit to us will be less idiots who drive as if they were above the law on their mopeds.... But unless a proper training and educational system is implement in order to obtain a license, we're just gonna see an increase in licensed idiots.... Of course its a remedy to the problem, but by no means a fool proof solution. There are still people who ride CBRs and Hornets sans license and insurnace, so I think in the end it'll just be the same with mopeds.... It may even have a backlash as it encourages such youngsters to move on from their mopeds to bigger bikes... :S

A proper solution would be to implement a system where 16 or 17 year olds can obtain a license, but to restricted class of 50CC say. This is alreday present tin the UK and Germany, but I guess I'm forgetting nothing can be implemented here with the hope of people taking the time to properly train road users.... Not yet at least, but its a start....

[Ripper]

With the whole moped licensing system, the fact is, it will just serve to generate more income for the government. The benifit to us will be less idiots who drive as if they were above the law on their mopeds.... But unless a proper training and educational system is implement in order to obtain a license, we're just gonna see an increase in licensed idiots.... Of course its a remedy to the problem, but by no means a fool proof solution. There are still people who ride CBRs and Hornets sans license and insurnace, so I think in the end it'll just be the same with mopeds.... It may even have a backlash as it encourages such youngsters to move on from their mopeds to bigger bikes... :S

A proper solution would be to implement a system where 16 or 17 year olds can obtain a license, but to restricted class of 50CC say. This is alreday present tin the UK and Germany, but I guess I'm forgetting nothing can be implemented here with the hope of people taking the time to properly train road users.... Not yet at least, but its a start....

well i'm all for bashing the rulers hell it's like a hobby! and maybe you're 100% correct here...

but there's a slight possibility that certain people saw a real problem with these mopeds flooding our roads.

License idiots as you say are not only riding bikes but are behind many fancy vehicles too...But at least those guys can be held accountable when something goes wrong.

About 2 months back a moped that ran a red light in borella junc came and crashed into my car as i was taking off to the green light. My bumper was scraped and the number plate got busted.

Two traffic cops were there and they saw the whole thing...and get this.. the moped chaps walked scott free...

if it was one of those licensed idiots on a bike those chaps would have got a ticket for running the red light etc etc....

This ability to get away from stuff is like a get our of jail for free ticket for these guys

And the other thing is since mopeds are seen by some parents as a slight upgrade from a bicycle so many youngsters too are on them minus safety gear etc...

So IMHO...increase govt revenue or not...whether it's 100% fool proof or not.... this seem to be a good move!

[Sifaan]

About 2 months back a moped that ran a red light in borella junc came and crashed into my car as i was taking off to the green light. My bumper was scraped and the number plate got busted.

Two traffic cops were there and they saw the whole thing...and get this.. the moped chaps walked scott free...

Maybe the traffic cops @ Borella junction in July were smoking something interesting... sometime that month, a colleague was instructed to proceed by the cops (even though the light was red) and ended up being hit in the side by a swift that was "obeying" the green light. pickup dented on both right hand doors and the sidestep all because of the jokers...

[slcamel]

News;

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/13677-motorists-can-complain.html

Motorists can complain

Amidst the continuous harassment faced by motorists on the roads by apparent V*P vehicle convoys that travel beeping horns and flashing head lights, Inspector General of Police (IGP) N.K Illangakoon yesterday said that motorists can complaint on 119 about vehicle convoys that interrupt the traffic flow and cause a nuisance to other road users.

“Day or night using head lights and causing trouble to other motorists is a traffic offence as it is in the Motor Traffic Act. The law is applicable for any individual who causes trouble to the public,” he said.

“We cannot decide the number of vehicles that should be in a convoy of an individual. What we can do is that we can take action against them if they are interrupting the daily traffic flow in the respective area,” he said.

“We cannot control the number of vehicles,” he said. It was reported in March this year that a car driven by President Mahinda Rajapaksa was nearly hit by a V*P convoy when he was touring the city to monitor vehicular conduct of VIPs on the roads.

He was inspecting to see the trouble these VIPs are giving ordinary people on the road. Following the incident he warned the Ministers not to cause problems to the public on the road in driving fast as he got many reports on V*P vehicles hitting innocent people on the roads.

“The public has complained to the police of such disruptions but no action has been taken against such individuals who cause trouble to motorists,” a concerned motorist said.

Although it is learnt that only a limited number of ministers and service chiefs were entitled to use several vehicles in their convoys, many individuals including businessman are currently using up to three or four vehicles in their respective convoys and travelling by posing off as ministers.

[slcamel]

...Although it is learnt that only a limited number of ministers and service chiefs were entitled to use several vehicles in their convoys, many individuals including businessman are currently using up to three or four vehicles in their respective convoys and travelling by posing off as ministers.

[ferrarif50]

News;

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/13677-motorists-can-complain.html

Motorists can complain

Amidst the continuous harassment faced by motorists on the roads by apparent V*P vehicle convoys that travel beeping horns and flashing head lights, Inspector General of Police (IGP) N.K Illangakoon yesterday said that motorists can complaint on 119 about vehicle convoys that interrupt the traffic flow and cause a nuisance to other road users.

“Day or night using head lights and causing trouble to other motorists is a traffic offence as it is in the Motor Traffic Act. The law is applicable for any individual who causes trouble to the public,” he said.

“We cannot decide the number of vehicles that should be in a convoy of an individual. What we can do is that we can take action against them if they are interrupting the daily traffic flow in the respective area,” he said.

“We cannot control the number of vehicles,” he said. It was reported in March this year that a car driven by President Mahinda Rajapaksa was nearly hit by a V*P convoy when he was touring the city to monitor vehicular conduct of VIPs on the roads.

He was inspecting to see the trouble these VIPs are giving ordinary people on the road. Following the incident he warned the Ministers not to cause problems to the public on the road in driving fast as he got many reports on V*P vehicles hitting innocent people on the roads.

“The public has complained to the police of such disruptions but no action has been taken against such individuals who cause trouble to motorists,” a concerned motorist said.

Although it is learnt that only a limited number of ministers and service chiefs were entitled to use several vehicles in their convoys, many individuals including businessman are currently using up to three or four vehicles in their respective convoys and travelling by posing off as ministers.

I will not be surprised if they arrest the person who did the complaint !

[Simplelife]

I will not be surprised if they arrest the person who did the complaint !

I was thinking the same

[slcamel]

"It was reported in March this year that a car driven by President Mahinda Rajapaksa was nearly hit by a V*P convoy when he was touring the city to monitor vehicular conduct of VIPs on the roads"

I cant believe this at all...

Edited September 21, 2011 by slcamel

[Gyiman]

People also think just cause they have the turn signal on that they can cut across immediately... what idiots.

[Sifaan]

People also think just cause they have the turn signal on that they can cut across immediately... what idiots.

interestingly, in australia (and maybe other countries as well), if someone who is in front of you in an adjoining lane signals to enter your lane, you are supposed to give him right of way. of course, in those cases people pretty much only change lanes when they need to, not because they are doing "wettu"