hi,

Wht is the current high speed law of sri lanka...?

I heard there is no rule at the moment.( dnt know exactly about it )

But, Cops will fine for reckless driving.

yeah....

thats y i posted this topic.... one my friend got a speed ticket b4 1 or 2 week earlier,

guys please share ur ideas... bcos no one know the exact rule...

the max speed allowed to travel is 72 i believe anywhere in SL. cops can give you a ticket for going over that.

isnt it 55 or 65.. if its 72 its good.. we are talking about KM/H right..

City limits ( Boundaries unknown of course ) is 52 and other areas are 72...both in KMPH
However, the cops cant still go on this basis as per a 'friendly' chat I had with a cop hiding behind a bush......
No really I stopped and asked him on the way from Habarana.......
so what they do is drag you in for reckless driving.

Be aware though of areas where proper signs are posted........The Ambepussa Kerunegala Dambulla roads are
decently posted...and actually the 70 limit posted is not bad in some areas,given the road conditions, bends, maniacal bus drivers etc.
I've found that there are certain places along any route that you just have to slow down to 50 or less even if the posting is 70 ( Example - Kurunegala road just after town is posted at 70, but you generally cant go beyond 50 - 60 on that strech unless its very early in the morning.)
On the other hand,If youre stupid enough to ignore dangerous situations, posted speed limits and warnings by other drivers....then IMHO you need to be hauled off to court.

Aren't they 56 and 72 kmph (35 and 45 mph) ?

Members of this Forum,

Please note this is a very good Question which had come up on this Forum.

THIS MATTER IS A LEGAL MATTER NOT RELATED TO MOTOR VEHICLES FORUM BUT STILL MOTORISTS CAN COMMENT.

Two or three Forum members who will have time can go to DIG Traffic Mr, Lucky Peris and get his answer for the speeding rule is the best we all can do as IG is not holding any meetings WITH PUBLIC till the Elections are over. That was officially announced few days ago.

Not only that the parking on Colombo Galle Road specially on Saturday and Sunday is also have to be verified as not much of traffic on those days on Galle Road and Duplication Road (R.A.De.Mel Mawatha)

Most develop countries relax parking laws on traffic less days holidays and on Saturdays Sundays.

Almost all traffic Police men are inexperienced and they do not Know how to address the Drivers. If a person drive with a different dress like a sarong that person is called in different language.

I have seen Traffic Constable got one bus driver down from the driving seat of the bus he was driving few years ago and slapped him on his face on Galle road near Bambalapitiya Junction opposite IC Drug Store that Police men is still working on Bambalapitiya Station as a Traffic controller on the Galle Road.

I had a experience about two years ago transporting one wooden Cupboard from Jaela and near Liberty Plaza three Police men had taken from the driver of the lorry Rupees 500.00 as a Bribe to release the Vehicle.

I immediately complained to DIG trafic of the bribe taken by the Constables When I visited the place on the instructions of then DIG Traffic to make my complain to get the numbers of the three Policemen who took the bribe of Rupees 500.00 one Police man called me Uncle.

Most Traffic Police men are working to their Whims and Fancy's and Rupees and Cents.

I leave to Forum members to decide for necessary steps on legal matters of road users.

Wijesinghe.

Hmmmm you may be right there........sorry bout that.

Guys, still high speed law is functioning or not in SL?

by law, they can give you a ticket if you are doing over 72 kmph which is the highest allowed speed anywhere on the island.

due to the court ruling, the cops are not using speed guns to catch speeders but they can nab you if you are going over 72. (this is not being enforced in most parts of the island)

AFAIK, the law is functional. They just don't have a means of enforcing coz the speed guns which were used to prove speeding is now not valid proof. For now.

Yes, this is true mate. But how can they prove without speed guns?

Members of the forum.


Speed guns was in use from 1970 early part in Srilanka this was tested by a appointed authority and had a report from said person at that time the speed checking meters what the Police department imported was correct. No one will be able to contest that report.

I do not know that present speed guns had same certificate by a appointed authority.

Any how if Police is issuing a different ticket for an offence what a driver had not committed it is left to that driver to contest his case in court of law.

I only mentioned my experience how today Police officers do their duty.Police can turn and twist the law to their side. Few days back a Police officer told me that when they are in full uniform thy can do as they like.

I find one member says Srilanka speed limit is 72Km. He may be correct then Speeding Driver getting a ticket for a different offense which he has not commited any Driver can complain to higher authority.

As this above member said act by Police officer issuing a different ticket instead of over speeding is violation of human wrights for an offense driver which he had not done.

We may be having numberof Professional Lawyers in our forum any one can advise to the forum for this speed issue.

My Posts may be of no interest to one party and wrong to others I do not write any thing did not happen in the past. I do not write out of the point.

Forums are there to share the experience and to request any help.

One member on this forum says that I may have used my Chana Vehicle to transport please note mine is a 11 seats Duel purpose van I cannot transport big Cargo on same I think he did not read my message full and understood same

This is not the only forum I do write I have been sharing my Experience in various subjects more than 10 years writing to forums one of the first to write from Srilanka for Forums which started in the world from the time Internet was established in Srilanka early part 1990 by SLT.

Wijesinghe.

lol this topic is turning into a 70s classic OT thread with added humor

bad choice of words, they do use the speed guns but only nab those going over the max allowed speed.

no more getting stopped for going 65 in a 40 zone

True that, cops are charging motorists caught on speeding with reckless driving. As far as i know, there's no spot fine for this offense. Which means you have to appear in courts. However, Main drawback of this offense was that cops could take the upper hand and of the vague definition of this offense and therefore later it was revised saying cop should state as to why motorists is being charge with reckless driving. Drawback of speed guns used here is there's no proof for identifying the vehicle. What stops a cop pointing a speed gun at you which has pre recorded speed and says it was you who did that speed.

Well, i'm sure at the rate this thread is going, it'll beat allion fuel consumption thread very easily. Who ever introduced this great historian cum comedian to this forum, we all should thank him for the involuntary yet invaluable humor we all are getting at a rate.

hehehee... i guess i havent lost my touch
And daaaaaaaam Milinda!!!!! you have some memory!! even I dont remember the post you're talking about



Wow! Experience in the medical field too??? This is in addition to the 50 years (i hope i got this figure right, cos you dont mention it THAT frequently) in the automotive industry and 10 years in forum-posting?


As for the speed limits, I thought the whole issue was that the guns only read a relative speed between gun and car, hence even movements of the hand could alter the reading.. in which case, the mechanism of recording the speed is fundamentally incorrect. So going on that line of thought, even being flagged down for doing 72 is wrong cos the reading of '72' itself is faulty. hmmmmmmmmm!!!! Too bad the IGP isnt available for comments on this..

This is what a traffic Sergent told me at the motor exhibition at BMICH.

Within city limits max is 50kmph
Out of city max 70kmph

Sometimes for Sri Lankan road conditions, its difficult to even reach 40kmph.
For example, go to Nuwara-eliya through Hatton. The road from Hatton to Nuwara-eliya is shit especially passing Talawakelle.

But then again, the 'limit' doesnt mean thats the speed one has to 'maintain' on the road... Not pointing fingers, but a number of posts kinda gave the vibe that some of us are keen on maintaining the 'limit' speed.
But I'm sure we're all intelegent enough to know that even if the limit is 70 on a road, and if it's unsafe or unsuitable to even maintain 30, we SHOULDNT try hit that 70 simply cos the general rule says so.

yeah once on my way to nuwara eliya i saw a sign indicating the limit was 70 and it was on a windy road with a sheer drop at one side
looked more like the RDA guys were having fun while posting up those sign boards cos it would be nearly impossible to reach those speeds in such road conditions...
on another note... say you're driving out after working late...1-2 in the morning..
it's HIGHLY unlikely that many people would stick to 50 even if that's set speed for that particular area..
IMO, one just gotta use common sense in speeding limits and hope for the best
it's just a matter of WHEN you get copped for speeding and not IF.
I once got copped near the maligawatta cop shed for doing 56kmph...never even thought they will be checking for speedsters cos it's such a short stretch of road.
I mean how many of us really stick to these limits? is it even practical to have such low speed limits?

Guys stick to the original topic PLEASE!!!!!!

At least follow the simple OT rules and mark it in a different color and clearly mention that it is "OT" so that others can ignore them and read only the information which is relevant to the original topic. Better if you guys can discuss ALL the OT stuff in one separate thread quoting the relevant paragraph.