Misleading Claims About Inter-Province Travel Restrictions for Vehicles in Sri Lanka

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In Sri Lanka, traffic or vehicle-related offenses are common, and when police apprehend drivers, they often record these incidents and upload the videos to social media. This practice leads to the proliferation of misleading videos, as the context and details of the situations are frequently misrepresented or misunderstood by viewers.

Social Media Posts

The video in question, which has been widely shared on social media, features a female police officer questioning a three-wheeler driver. The driver, in his defense, claims that the police officers are planning to file a case against him due to a supposed inter-province travel restriction for vehicles. This claim, however, is not supported by the officer's statements in the video.

Recognizing the potential impact of misinformation, we undertook a thorough fact-check on this issue to provide you with accurate information.

Fact Check:

Review of the Video:

Upon careful examination of the viral video, it becomes evident that the female police officer, while discussing provincial discrepancies, did not mention anything about a vehicle registered in one province being prohibited from traveling to another province without a special license.

Our aim with this report is to debunk the misleading claim about inter-province travel restrictions for vehicles in Sri Lanka and to prevent the spread of such misinformation.

Official Statement from Police Spokesman:

We contacted Police Media Spokesman Nihal Thalduwa for further details. He provided the following information:

The incident occurred on the Avissawella to Galigamuwa road, involving officers from the Kegalle and Pindeniya Police stations as part of the anti-drug "Yukthiya" mission.

The situation became controversial because the name on the insurance card, revenue license, and the driver’s identity were different, involving three different people.

The court case was filed because the vehicle was not registered under the name of the person (current owner of the vehicle) driving it. This is an offense as per the law. The driver had purchased the vehicle but had not yet registered it under his name, so he was fined Rs. 5000 after admitting the offense in court.

Legal Requirements for Driving a Vehicle:

According to Nihal Thalduwa, to legally drive a vehicle, a person needs three essential documents:

A valid driving license for the driver.

The vehicle's valid revenue license.

A valid insurance certificate for the said vehicle.

Even though the female police officer mentions vehicle registration documents also as a requirement, they are currently not required for regular checkups. However, they were necessary under the ‘emergency law’ a few years ago.

When driving a vehicle owned by another person, carrying your driving license, the vehicle's revenue license, and its insurance certificate is essential. Issues can arise if the revenue license and insurance certificate are registered under different names, potentially causing legal complications. Therefore, vehicle owners should ensure that all documents are in order and registered consistently to avoid such problems.

Clarification on Province-to-Province Travel:

Nihal Thalduwa confirmed that there are no restrictions on vehicles traveling from one province to another in Sri Lanka. There is no law requiring a special license for inter-province travel.

How do you transfer the vehicle's registration document when buying another person's vehicle?

When selling a vehicle in any way, the relevant document must be completed according to the Motor Vehicle Act. Copies will be given to both parties (the person buying the vehicle and the person selling the vehicle).

The person selling the vehicle must keep a copy in his custody. Similarly, he should forward the remaining copy to the Commissioner of Motor Transport and Vehicles to inform him that he has sold his vehicle.

Also, within 14 days of buying the vehicle, the buyer must register it with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. According to the Motor Transport Act, using someone else's vehicle for an extended period is prohibited without clear documentation. When a vehicle is rented for a long time, a hire agreement can be provided to clarify ownership details.

Read in Sinhala : පළාත් අතර වෙනත් පළාතක වාහනයක් ධාවනය කිරීමට නොහැකි බවට පොලිස් නිලධාරිනිය පැවසුවාද?

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Conclusion:

The claim that a vehicle registered in one province cannot travel to another province without a special license in Sri Lanka is false. The police action was related to the vehicle's registration and the mismatch in the ownership documents, not due to any inter-province travel restrictions. The misinformation seems to have arisen from the person recording the video misrepresenting the facts, who had not registered the vehicle under his name and later admitted the offense in court.