Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake has announced that the government plans to introduce a demerit points system for traffic offences as a pilot project across the country in September.

Addressing Parliament, the Minister said that creating disciplined drivers is essential to reducing road accidents and argued that such discipline cannot be effectively enforced without a demerit system. He noted that 2,750 people lost their lives in road accidents last year, including around 1,000 motorcyclists and 1,000 pedestrians.

According to Rathnayake, only about 650 of the fatalities were vehicle passengers, highlighting the vulnerability of road users such as motorcyclists and pedestrians. He emphasized that improving driver behaviour is a key step toward enhancing road safety and reducing the national death toll.

The Minister also stated that the implementation of the demerit system had been delayed in the past due to fraudulent activities, but the government is now moving forward with plans to introduce the programme.