Traffic & Road Safety in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka utilizes a left hand drive system which means that all traffic generally proceeds on the left hand side of the road. However this only occurs in the city areas while driving in the city as in more rural areas these rules are less likely to apply, where in some areas the roads are only wide enough to accommodate a single vehicle at a time. Generally however, driving in these areas should pose no problem to visitors.

In the urban areas the normal rules that are common to most other countries apply. Visitors should be aware the driving in Sri Lanka can be difficult especially in peak traffic times, and for those who have not traveled to Asia before; it may come as a surprise.

In certain areas there are high security zones and visitors should be aware that there are routine random checks of the vehicles passing by. When driving by these checkpoints always be aware that you might be stopped for a routine check. Some parts of Colombo are also closed off due to security reasons and are not passable.

Also during certain situations when there are both a traffic police officer and traffic lights the traffic lights should be ignored in favour of the traffic police officer.

Speed Limits in urban areas for cars range from 50 to 60 km per hour.

International driving licenses are recognized in Sri Lanka so there should be no hassle when it comes to renting a car regarding driving licenses which most certainly adds to the ease of driving.

In recent times the road system has changed in Colombo introducing one ways which was very uncommon in Sri Lanka which is similar to how the road system functions in many other countries.

The landscape when it comes to driving is like everything in Sri Lanka extremely diverse varying from both the time of day and the location in which one is driving.

Travel Information in Sri Lanka