Minister of Transport Bimal Ratnayake said the Inspector General of Police has been instructed to take action against the driver of a container who was seen driving recklessly and harassing a bus driver on the expressway.
Video footage circulating on social media shows the container forcing the bus out of its lane and driving dangerously close, pushing the vehicle towards the railings. Addressing the incident in Parliament, Minister Ratnayake said such reckless behaviour is a major cause of road accidents, often linked to drug and alcohol use, racing, and driver fatigue.
“Even recently, we saw a container edge a bus out of its way for blocking its path and putting passengers at risk. We have informed the IGP to arrest the container driver,” he said.
The Minister also announced that a special licence, known as the Public Transport Licence (PT Licence), will be introduced to curb such incidents. All drivers engaged in public transportation, including school transport and taxi services, will be required to obtain this licence after completing a mandatory two-day training programme.
He explained that passenger transport licences will be issued only to drivers above the age of 25, while school transport licences will be restricted to those aged 30 and above. In addition, a licence demerit system will be introduced, under which points will be deducted for each traffic violation, with repeat offenders facing cancellation of their licences.
Minister Ratnayake added that the necessary regulations to implement these measures are expected to be legally enforced within the next two months.
