Cyprus’s Traffic Department is seeking legislative changes due to a rise in drivers caught under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both.

Currently, such drivers are arrested but usually released the next day and allowed to keep driving until a trial, which may be delayed for months or not occur at all.

The proposed change would allow police to issue an on-the-spot notice temporarily suspending a driver’s license, ensuring immediate consequences and reducing bureaucracy.

In 2025, there were 45 road fatalities, up from 41 in 2024, continuing an upward trend after a low in 2023. Of these, 11 deaths involved drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Police issued 3,226 alcohol-related citations and 869 drug-related citations, high figures for Cyprus.

Motorcyclists were particularly affected (16 deaths), alongside pedestrians (9), cyclists (3), and car occupants. Young people (up to age 25) accounted for 16 of the 45 victims.

The leading causes of fatal collisions were careless or distracted driving (often mobile phone use) and driving under the influence, each responsible for 11 deaths.

Saturdays and Fridays, especially between 8:00 PM and midnight, were the most dangerous times.

Comparison of road safety trends in Cyprus vs. the EU to give broader context to the 2025 Cyprus road toll situation:

📊 Recent Trends — EU Overall

In 2024, the EU recorded about 19,800 road deaths, a 3 % decrease compared with 2023 — but progress is considered too slow to meet the target of halving road deaths by 2030.

The EU average road death rate is about 44–45 per million inhabitants.

Vulnerable road users — pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists — make up a significant share of fatalities in many countries.

🇨🇾 Cyprus — Longer-Term and Recent Trends

2023: Cyprus saw an 8.1 % drop in road fatalities, better than the EU average decline (1.3 %) that year. The Cypriot fatality rate (36 per million) was lower than the EU average (46 per million) in 2023.

Decade-long trend: Over the last decade Cyprus reduced road deaths by around 8.9 %, but this was less than the EU’s overall reduction (~17.2 %).

2024 statistics showed a rise in fatalities in Cyprus (from 34 to 41), representing one of the larger increases among EU countries, and causing Cyprus to drop in the EU road safety rankings.

Even with this increase, Cyprus’s road death rate (~42 per million) remained slightly below the EU average (~45 per million) in 2024.

📍 Key Differences in Where Crashes Happen

In many EU countries, rural roads account for the majority of fatalities.

In Cyprus, a higher proportion of road deaths occur on urban roads — over 60 %, which is much more than the EU norm.

📌 Goals and Challenges

The EU aims to cut road deaths by 50 % by 2030 and achieve Vision Zero (zero deaths) by 2050.

However, both Cyprus and the EU overall are not currently on track to meet these targets without stronger measures — for example, enhanced enforcement, technology, and infrastructure improvements.

🧠 Summary

EU trend: modest reduction in road fatalities, but insufficient pace to hit long-term goals.

Cyprus trend: historically stronger short-term improvements than the EU average, but recent increases in deaths and changing patterns (more urban fatalities) signal growing challenges.

📈 Road deaths rising

• Cyprus has seen an increase in road fatalities this year, with 43 deaths in 43 collisions reported so far — up compared with last year.

🏍️ Motorcyclist deaths surpass car drivers

• For the first time, motorcyclists (16) have outnumbered car drivers (13) in the fatality figures.

📱 Major role of distraction / mobile phones

• Driver distraction, strongly linked to mobile phone use, is highlighted as a leading cause.
• Careless driving/distraction accounted for 11 deaths and overall inattentive driving factors were linked to 19 of the deaths.

👶 Young people & vulnerable road users

• Eleven of the victims were aged up to 25, including eight young motorcyclists.
• There were also eight pedestrian and three cyclist deaths.

🚨 Other contributing causes

• Besides distraction, fatalities included cases involving alcohol or drugs (five victims) and speed (two victims).

📍 Most affected area

• Limassol recorded the highest number of road fatalities (15).

⚖️ Government response

• Officials say the figures endanger Cyprus’s goal to cut road deaths by 50% by 2030, and are pushing for urgent corrective measures early next year.
• Plans include potential legislative changes such as zero alcohol tolerance for young drivers and improvements to police resources and technology.

New Proposed Bill Highlights

• Fines delivered via SMS or email: Offenders would be notified electronically instead of by registered post to improve delivery and reduce undelivered fines.
• Optional postal delivery remains: Registered postal letters still permitted, but electronic methods take legal precedence once enacted.
• Online fine-check portal: Users can view pending camera-issued fines through CY‑Login without paying immediately.

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Key Provisions & Legal Changes 🧾

• Criminalisation of camera obstruction: Individuals who damage or obstruct mobile camera units or warning signs face up to 2 years in prison and/or €5,000 in fines, plus liability for repair costs.
• Mandatory driver identification: Registered vehicle owners must report the actual driver if different; otherwise, they’ll be fined or prosecuted.
  • Failure to provide complete driver details within 15 days is punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment and/or €2,000 fine.
  • Failing to update and confirm current contact address within 15 days also carries penalties of up to 1 year imprisonment or €3,000 fine.

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Notification Rules & Legal Effects

• Notification effective date clarified: The fine’s issuance date is legally considered the day the SMS/email is sent, or the registered post is received or sent.
• Electronic payment timeframe: If fines arrive electronically and are paid within 45 days, postal procedures are waived and considered closed.

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Status & Timeline

• The bill opens for public consultation until August 25, 2025.
• The Transport Ministry anticipates tabling it in late August or early September 2025.

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Why It Matters

• Modernises outdated system: Replaces inefficient registered-post delivery, which saw many fines returned or refused by recipients.
• Aims to resolve undelivered fines: Electronic alerts expected to help recover thousands of fines currently going unpaid.
• Stronger enforcement: Makes obstructing camera equipment a criminal offense, adding a deterrence layer to abuse of mobile camera operations.

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The bill seeks to streamline Cyprus’s traffic enforcement by transitioning to digital notifications, improving payment compliance, and tightening rules around obstruction and owner responsibility. It’s under consultation now, with potential enactment by early autumn 2025.

Two Young Men Die in Separate Road Collisions in Cyprus (30 July 2025)

• Fatal Crashes Occur Within an Hour: Two unrelated accidents claimed the lives of young men in Cyprus—one in Nicosia and one in Paphos—within roughly one hour of each other, raising the island’s road death toll to 25 so far in 2025, compared with 26 at the same time in 2024.
• Crash in Nicosia (Aglantzia):
  • Victim: 20‑year‑old Kyriakos Antoniou from Agios Dometios.
  • Time & Location: Around 1:20 a.m., on Larnaca Avenue near the University of Cyprus roundabout.
  • Circumstances: His car collided with another vehicle carrying two passengers; following the impact, Antoniou’s car left the road and hit a traffic light pole. He succumbed to his injuries at Nicosia General Hospital.
  • Investigation Focus: Traffic police are examining whether Antoniou was attempting a right turn. Local officials have repeatedly warned that Larnaca Avenue has become an informal racing track, calling for preventive measures to curb speeding.
• Crash in Paphos (Kissonerga):
  • Victim: 21‑year‑old Panagiotis Siik from Paphos.
  • Time & Location: About ten minutes after midnight, near Kissonerga.
  • Circumstances: Siik lost control of a repaired motorcycle, veered off the road, struck vegetation, and collided with a parked vehicle. He was not wearing a helmet, and police noted the bike belonged to someone else and was registered as immobilised. He had attempted a test ride shortly before the accident, witnessed by family members.
• Road Safety Concerns:
  • These incidents continue a trend of fatal accidents in Cyprus often linked to speeding, alcohol, and lack of helmet or seat-belt usage.
  • Local officials stress the urgent need for proactive efforts to prevent such tragedies.

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🕯️ Summary Points

Detail	Description
Fatalities so far in 2025	25 (vs. 26 in 2024 by this time)
Victims	Kyriakos Antoniou (20) – Nicosia & Panagiotis Siik (21) – Paphos
Key issues	Speed, inadequate helmet use, illicit bike usage, untreated risky roads

As of July 24, 2025, traffic lights in Cyprus generally do not have countdown timers.

There has been a recent legal battle regarding the installation of such timers. In March 2025, the House of Representatives passed a law mandating the installation of countdown timers at traffic lights, especially those with cameras. The intention was to improve driver compliance and safety.

However, President Nikos Christodoulides referred the law back to Parliament, citing constitutional and technical concerns, including:

• Increased state expenditure: The law would require significant unbudgeted funds for new equipment, software, and potential relocation of infrastructure.
• Incompatibility with “smart” traffic light systems: Cyprus is in the process of installing adaptive “smart” traffic lights at many junctions that adjust to real-time traffic flow. Fixed countdown timers are argued to be incompatible with such dynamic systems and could cause confusion and safety risks.
• Violation of separation of powers: The president argued that the law encroached on the executive branch’s administrative functions.
• Breach of existing contracts: Failure to install timers within six months (as the law stipulated) would suspend red-light camera enforcement, potentially breaching contracts with the company managing the camera system.

Most recently, on July 21, 2025, the Supreme Constitutional Court of Cyprus unanimously ruled the law unconstitutional. This means that, for now, the requirement to install countdown timers at traffic lights has been struck down.

So, while there was a strong push for them, traffic lights in Cyprus are not currently equipped with countdown timers due to this recent court decision.

An internal review has been sparked within the Cyprus police force following an alert from the national Audit Office regarding repeated traffic law violations by officers driving patrol cars and other government vehicles.

Key points from the audit and subsequent internal review include:

• Violations Confirmed: An internal audit by the headquarters’ traffic division confirmed a significant number of violations, such as speeding, committed by police officers, including those in security details for political figures.
• New Process Introduced: In coordination with the Attorney General’s office, police have introduced a formal process where a special form is sent to police departments responsible for flagged vehicles. Department heads must determine if the violation was justified (e.g., if committed in the line of duty). If documented in official police activity logs, no further statement from the officer is required.
• Delays in Cooperation: Police leadership has faced delays in getting full cooperation from all departments, with many cases remaining unresolved by mid-May, prompting a directive from the police chief to expedite the process by May 30.
• Ongoing Scrutiny: The Audit Office is expected to conduct further on-site checks as part of its ongoing review.

Cyprus has enacted a new law that significantly increases the maximum driving ban for individuals who cause death through reckless, careless, or dangerous acts. The previous maximum disqualification period was a mere three months, which lawmakers deemed disproportionately lenient when compared to penalties for other traffic offenses (e.g., refusing an alcohol test could result in a two-year ban).

The new legislation, unanimously approved by the House of Representatives, extends this maximum ban to two years (24 months). This change grants courts more extensive discretion to impose penalties that better reflect the severe nature of causing a fatal accident. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean every convicted driver will automatically receive a two-year ban, but it provides the judiciary with the option to impose a much stricter penalty than was previously possible.

There has been a significant increase in electric scooter violations across Cyprus. Police data indicates 807 fines were issued in 2024 for illegal electric scooter use, with an additional 229 violations recorded in Limassol during the first five months of 2025. These violations often involve foreign users and minors, who represent the second-largest group of offenders. Many riders use scooters for commuting, often traveling on main roads and highways where their use is prohibited.

Key regulations for electric scooter use in Cyprus, implemented in September 2022, classify riders as vulnerable road users. These regulations include:

• Minimum Age: 14 years.
• Speed Limits:
  • 20 km/h on cycle paths and roads with a 30 km/h speed limit.
  • 10 km/h in squares and pedestrian areas.
• Mandatory Equipment: Securely fastened helmets, braking systems, white or yellow front lights, red rear lights, bells or sirens, and adequate tyre conditions.

Violations carry specific fines:

• €50 fines for offenses such as improper lighting, unauthorized lane usage, or inappropriate parking on cycle paths and roadways.
• €85 fines for more serious offenses, including underage riders, excessive speed, not wearing a helmet, or traffic signal violations. Motor vehicle drivers failing to take protective measures around electric scooter users also face an €85 fine.

Additionally, the Paphos Municipality has banned the use of electric scooters due to safety concerns. Discussions are also underway in the House transport committee regarding stricter regulations, including the potential requirement for scooter registration to ensure insurance coverage in case of accidents.

The Cyprus transport ministry has announced that written exams for the certificate of professional competence (CPC) for lorry and bus drivers will now be available in English. Previously, the exams were only offered in Greek and Turkish.

This change aims to increase accessibility for non-Greek-speaking drivers and create a fairer, more functional training and certification system. The ministry emphasized that the move will help ensure equal opportunities while maintaining high standards of competence and road safety.