COLOMBO, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan Police on Tuesday awarded medical gift vouchers to disciplined drivers to encourage road safety across the island country.
The police said that after regular inspection and monitoring, their teams had identified more than 150 drivers in capital Colombo who maintained traffic rules and awarded them medical vouchers to honor them for their dedication towards road safety.
The vouchers were handed over by Inspector General of Police, Pujitha Jayasundara.
Jayasundara said that police would conduct this program in all the provinces across the island and special police teams would be deployed to identify good and disciplined drivers in order to reward them.
He added that while the police encourage safe driving, they would also take legal action on those caught in reckless driving.
The Sri Lankan cabinet last month agreed to impose a Rs.25,000 (165 U.S. dollars) fine for offences such as driving without a valid driving licence, deploying persons without driving licence in services, driving under the influence of liquor and drugs, access of vehicle onto a railway road unsafely and driving a vehicle without a valued insurance cover.
Sri Lanka police estimate that 3,000 people died on the country's roads last year and another 100,000 people are seriously wounded in traffic accidents each year across the island country.
