October 2020

The legal service said on Wednesday that all requests to cancel out extrajudicial traffic fines which became steeper and tougher on October 1, will not be accepted if such requests are outside the framework of the relevant legislation.

“Therefore, all extrajudicial fines should either be paid within the time limit provided by law or, if the complainant so wishes, be challenged before the court, whenever criminal proceedings are instituted for non-payment,” the legal service said in an announcement.

“In exceptional cases, if the complainants thinks that there is an obvious formal error in the issuance of the extrajudicial fine, they can also submit their complaint to the authorities, who, after evaluating it, will refer to the Attorney-general.

The announcement, however, specified that the submission of a request to the competent authorities does not cancel the deadline provided by the legislation for the payment of the fine.

Source: Requests to cancel extrajudicial traffic fines will be rejected, AG’s office says | Cyprus Mail

A 23-year-old man was fined €1,000 and had his licence suspended after he was found speeding during early morning hours on Wednesday.

Limassol district court fined the motorist €900 for speeding and an additional €100 for driving without car tax.

He also his driving licence suspended for a month.

Police arrested the driver a few minutes after midnight on Tuesday on Amathountas Avenue in Limassol. He was driving at 125 km/h on a street with a limit of 50 km/h.

Source: Driver fined €1,000 for speeding and not having car tax | Cyprus Mail

Police booked 1,792 drivers for traffic offences during the first weekend since fines were increased, head of Nicosia traffic police Yiannakis Georgiou told the Cyprus Mail.

“There was a slight decrease in bookings, and we hope it continues,” Georgiou said.

The fines were issued between 6am on Saturday to midnight on Sunday, with 602 violations reported on the highways.

Since the increase on fines on Thursday, police issued a total of 2,363 fines, out of which 2,129 concerned violations that belonged to the revised fines.

“The main traffic violation was speed,” said Georgiou, with 1,054 of the fines issued in the last four days concerned with it.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility,” police said in a written announcement on Monday, and asked for the “compliance of all drivers to the traffic code”.

Police said they fined 79 people driving under the influence of alcohol since Thursday, 75 using mobile phones while driving, 87 not wearing a seat belt and 11 motorcyclists who did not wear a helmet. Another 28 drivers were booked for running the red light.

A total of 234 fines were issued against illegal parking, of which 104 concerned illegal parking on sidewalks and 23 concerned illegal parking in disability spaces.

Concerning lack of documents, police booked 329 drivers who did not have a valid road tax, 111 for driving vehicles without road tax and another 24 for driving without insurance. Police also fined 16 drivers for driving vehicles declared immobilised, while five drivers were fined who did not have a valid driving license.

According to the new fine increases, drivers failing to wear a seat belt will be fined €150 and €300 in case of a second offence within three years.

The fine for not wearing a helmet rose from €85 to €200 and then €300 for a second violation.

Using a mobile phone while at the wheel increased to €150, instead of the previous €85, with the fine potentially rising to €300 in case of a second violation within three years.

The fine for parking in a spot reserved for the disabled will rise from €85 to €300, as will the one for drivers who run a red light.

All the revised penalties have been posted on the website www.roadsafetycyprus.gov.cy.

Source: Slight decrease in traffic fines after charges go up | Cyprus Mail

More than 600 traffic offences were recorded in the first 24 hours after heftier fines came into force on Thursday, the head of Nicosia traffic police, Yiannakis Georgiou told the Cyprus Mail.

On Thursday, the first day the new penalties came into effect, there were 634 violations islandwide, Georgiou said on Friday.

“This means that drivers weren’t affected by the heavier fines. They just don’t care,” he said.

According to the traffic police head, the number of violations recorded on Thursday was around the usual number. Police usually book 500-700 drivers for traffic violations daily.

“The public must realise that things are serious and start respecting the traffic law and think about themselves and stop putting the life of others in danger,” Georgiou added.

Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis said on Friday that the new fines would bring results after a reasonable amount of time, if not immediately.

She also said that high penalties aim at reducing the number of road deaths and injuries and were not an end in themselves.

“We want to promote the cultivation of traffic awareness from a young age and unfortunately the punishments are part of the whole effort, although not an end in itself,” she said after a meeting with Cyprus worker’s confederation SEK.

In 2019, there were 48 deaths from fatal traffic accidents, while the country recorded 67 deaths per million inhabitants, according to recent data from Eurostat. This is higher than the EU average of 51 deaths per million.

As of Thursday, drivers failing to wear a seat belt will have to pay a €150 fine and €300 in case of a second offence within three years.

The fine for not wearing a helmet rises from the current €85 to €200 and then €300 for a second violation.

Using a mobile phone while at the wheel will now cost drivers €150, instead of the current €85, with the fine potentially rising to €300 in case of a second violation within three years.

The fine for parking in a spot reserved for the disabled will rise from €85 to €300, as will the one for drivers who run a red light.

All the revised penalties have been posted on the website www.roadsafetycyprus.gov.cy.

Source: New traffic fines fail to intimidate drivers, no fall in violations in first 24 hours | Cyprus Mail