DMT's New Fitness Test Every 3 Months — Only for Buses & Lorries, Not Your Car. Fair Call?

The DMT's proposed roadworthiness certificate — inspections roughly every 3 months or 5,000km, issued by an authorised garage — caused confusion when it first came out, so on 25 October the department clarified it's meant only for commercial vehicles used for public transport and goods, not private cars. It's still just a proposal under review by the Road Worthiness Strategic Committee, with no confirmed start date even though "early 2027" was floated. One side says this is the right call: buses, lorries and vans rack up far more km, carry more people or cargo, and a brake or tyre failure on one of those does more damage than on a private car, so they should be checked first without loading extra cost on everyone. The other side asks why safety checks stop at commercial plates — plenty of 15-20 year old private petrol cars on the road have worse brakes and tyres than a well-run lorry, and the annual emission test alone clearly isn't catching that. If you run a bus, van or lorry, what would a 3-month or 5,000km check actually cost you in time and garage fees? And if you drive privately, would you want the same rule applied to you, or is this one case where leaving private cars alone is the right move? මාසෙට තුනකට සහ කිලෝමීටර් 5,000කට පරීක්ෂණයක් - ලොරි, බස් වලටම විතරද ඕන, කාර් වලටත් මේක ගහන්න ඕනද?