Speed Limit in Sri Lanka — Finder by Vehicle & Road

Sri Lanka's speed limits are not a single number — they depend on both the road type and the vehicle class. This finder is a lookup against the national matrix set by two authorities, so the answer is a direct legal figure rather than an estimate.

The built-up and non-built-up limits come from Extraordinary Gazette No. 1763/26 (22 June 2012), issued under the Motor Traffic Act. In a built-up area (a town, where buildings line the road) the cap is 50 km/h for cars, motorcycles, vans, buses and lorries, and 40 km/h for three-wheelers (motor tricycles). On a non-built-up open road the cap rises to 70 km/h for all light vehicles, while motor coaches (buses) and goods vehicles (lorries) are held to 60 km/h because of their longer stopping distance. The limit switches at the town-boundary signs.

The expressway limits come from the RDA Expressway Operation & Maintenance rules. On access-controlled expressways such as the E01 Southern Expressway, light vehicles may do up to 100 km/h with a 60 km/h minimum, and buses and lorries up to 80 km/h. Interchange ramps are held to 60 km/h. Crucially, motorcycles and three-wheelers are prohibited from expressways entirely — the tool shows a clear “not permitted” state for those combinations rather than a number.

When you enter your recorded speed, the check is a simple comparison: over-by = your speed − limit when you exceed the maximum, or a below-minimum warning when you drop under an expressway's 60 km/h floor. The tool does not calculate the fine — that is delegated to the Traffic Fine Calculator so each tool does one job well. Every cell of the matrix is stored twice in the code (an explicit table and a first-principles rule derivation) and the two are cross-checked on load, so the “Gazette + RDA verified” badge only shows when all 18 values agree.

• Kumarage et al., “Determination of Speed Limits for National Highways in Sri Lanka”, Engineer — Journal of the IESL, Vol. LV No. 03 (2022)
• Department of Government Printing — Extraordinary Gazettes (Gazette No. 1763/26, 22 June 2012)
• Road Development Authority — Expressway operation & user rules
• SriLankaLaw.lk — Motor Traffic Act and regulations (mirror)

The speed-limit matrix on this page was last cross-checked against Extraordinary Gazette No. 1763/26 (22 June 2012) and the RDA Expressway Operation & Maintenance rules on 2026-07-09. Limits change only by gazette amendment or RDA regulation. Posted signs always override these national defaults.