Motorists have been bemused by speed limits and road rules to be followed when driving on Sri Lanka’s first toll road- the Southern Expressway. Several owners of brand new motor vehicles told the Business Times they found it difficult to adhere to the maximum speed limit of 100 km per hour because the road is [...]

The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

Motorists bemused by Southern Expressway speed limits, rules

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Motorists have been bemused by speed limits and road rules to be followed when driving on Sri Lanka’s first toll road- the Southern Expressway.

Several owners of brand new motor vehicles told the Business Times they found it difficult to adhere to the maximum speed limit of 100 km per hour because the road is wide and that they have paid the toll to get to Galle or thereabouts as fast as possible.
On the other hand their vehicles are capable of reaching a minimum speed of 125 km per hour and expressways are meant to speed up not to slow down, they said adding that the imposition of a Rs. 1000 spot fine is not reasonable as the authorities should fine old vehicles and vans plying on this road at speeds of less than 80 km per hour.

These motorists complain that there are no policemen deployed with speed guns to check the maximum speed of vehicles running on the express highway.

Instead officers who are manning the entry and exit points at the highway calculate the average speed of the motorists taking into the account the time taken to reach the exit point.

This method is not accurate they alleged. Tilak Gunasekera, President of Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association said that 100 km per hour maximum speed limit is not acceptable. He noted that the number of modern cars plying on this road has been reduced due to maximum speed limit restrictions.

The elite Special Task Force (STF) conducts routine patrolling in the Southern Expressway. Drivers who do not maintain a speed limit of between 80 kmh and 100 kmh while driving on the Expressway could be charged for either ‘obstruction’ or for ‘speeding’ , an officer in charge of the Southern Expressway Police Division said adding that they cannot allow motorists to exceed these limits.

The violations will be assessed by way of the speed-gun and the observations made by this special police division comprising 500 specially trained police personnel, he said, rejecting the allegations made by motorists.

However Mr. Gunasekera said that it is essential to create awareness on road traffic regulations among motorists minimize accidents and clear their minds from unnecessary confusion.

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