Abstract:
Transport was an important aspect of the day today life of the ancient Sri Lankans. Since ancient times different transport facilities were used and available for the king, higher officers and the general public too. The first car to enter Sri Lanka was an 811p single Cylinder Rover automobile brought by Edgar Money in 1902 but during that time the roads were barely built.The Sri Lankan government of the 1960s decided to impose a ban on all imports in an attempt to fix the deficit of foreign exchange, which meant the importation of vehicles into the country had to stop. This was the main aim of the Veteran Car Club of Ceylon, which began in 1958 and moved on to becoming the Veteran Car Owners Club in 1987. The appreciation for older vehicles became a part of the Sri Lankan culture at that time and the oldest car in the VCOC was the Morgan Super Sport A 25 date back in 1913.In late 1970s the Sri Lankan government reversed its trade policies and imports were allowed back into the country and this included vehicles. The main reason for that was the relationship between Sri Lanka and Japan and one of the key Japanese brands that was imported then still dominates the roads today, namely, the Toyota. After the reversal of Anti Trade Law, Sri Lanka reopened its automotive trade relationship with India and started importing from TATA motors. The production of the tuk tuk by David Peiris in the late 1970s was an important contributor of the Sri Lankan automotive industry. In 1951 Sri Lanka was introduced The Motor Traffic Act no 14 for the enforcement of traffic laws and preventing violations.
