Seat Belts Made Mandatory On Expressway Buses

COLOMBO(News 1st); Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Ratnayake says a gazette will be issued tomorrow making it compulsory for passengers on expressway buses to wear seat belts.

He said this during the Ministry's Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Affairs.

The Minister also said that about three months will be given to prepare seat belts for school buses, office service buses, excursion buses, and other buses using expressways.

He noted that the price of seat belts, which was around Rs. 2,000 earlier, has now risen to between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 7,000.

He added that the Consumer Affairs Authority should investigate this price increase.

The Minister further said that public opinion was sought on making seat belts compulsory for long-distance buses as well, and most people agreed.

Accordingly, he said plans are underway to make seat belts mandatory for long-distance service buses in the future.