Sri Lanka’s worsening road safety crisis has reached breaking point, yet the much-publicised driver demerit-point system remains trapped in bureaucratic paralysis. Despite the awarding of a contract in September 2024, the digital system is still not operational, leaving reckless drivers unchecked while thousands of lives are lost each year.
The statistics underscore the urgency. In 2024, road accidents climbed to 25,299 a five-year high claiming 2,521 lives compared to 2,341 the year before.
The carnage shows no sign of slowing; in just the first four months of 2025, 802 fatal crashes claimed 845 lives, almost one death for every recorded accident. Pedestrians, cyclists, and passengers remain the most vulnerable, accounting for nearly 70 percent of all fatalities.
The Kotmale bus disaster in May 2025, which killed 22 people, highlighted the deadly mix of fatigue, overcrowding, and poor enforcement.
Experts warn that the absence of a functioning demerit-point system has allowed habitual offenders to continue driving with little fear of losing their licenses. Current enforcement depends heavily on spot fines, which generate revenue but fail to deter repeat violators.
“If drivers accumulate the maximum demerit points, their licenses will be cancelled,” a senior Motor Traffic Department official said. “But without a digital monitoring system, this remains only a theory.”
The demerit framework, approved in 2024, is designed to penalize 24 different traffic offences, with license suspension at 24 accumulated points. It requires an integrated electronic platform to monitor offenses and manage fines yet bureaucratic inertia and procurement delays have stalled its rollout.
The Automobile Association has criticised the delay, warning that public trust is eroding as fatalities rise. Transport experts argue that Sri Lanka needs a national driver behaviour database to identify and restrict high-risk motorists before more lives are lost.
For now, the system remains stuck in limbo, while Sri Lanka’s roads claim lives at a pace that outstrips reform. Unless the government enforces the promised digital traffic observation and demerit-point system immediately, the country risks allowing road carnage to spiral further out of control.
