Police booked 21,000 people for speeding in the last two months, traffic police data published on Friday showed.
The data, covering the period between March 24 and May 24, showed that speed was the main traffic violation during that period nationwide, followed by traffic signal violations with 3,300 fines.
Another 1,320 people were booked for driving while holding a mobile phone or another object, and 1,100 fines were issued for those who failed to wear a seatbelt or a safety helmet.
Traffic officers also booked 770 vehicles for illegal parking, 93 drivers for parking in a disabled parking spot and 212 drivers for running a red light.
The data showed that 70 per cent of the people tested for drugs showed a positive result, with 280 positive narcotests after 402 checks.
Eighteen people refused to give a sample. In that case, people are charged in writing and are referred to the court, police said.
Transport minister Yiannis Karousos and Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis attended an urgent meeting on road safety on Wednesday after six motorcyclists died in accidents this year.
At the meeting, it was stated that motorcyclists are 14 times more likely to be involved in traffic accidents.
Karousos and Yiolitis said that they have been in contact with various motorcycle groups, hearing their views on how to reduce the high number of deaths.
As part of their consultations, safety advice on how to avoid collisions with motorcyclists will be added to the process while obtaining a driver’s licence.
Additionally, a proposal was made for a full driver’s licence to be required to operate a motorcycle – as currently a learner’s licence is sufficient to drive one for work purposes.
Yiolitis also said that vehicle inspections will be increased.
Road accidents fell 20 per cent between 2010 and 2020 in Cyprus, data released by the statistical service (Cystat) said on Wednesday.
According to an infographic on road transport and road accidents published in Cystat’s website the number of people killed on the roads fell by 20 per cent, from 60 in 2010 to 48 in 2020.
Even though two-wheelers constitute only 5.3 per cent of all licensed vehicles, they accounted for 31.3 per cent the fatalities in 2020.
At the same time, people over 60 years of age made up 45.8 per cent of those killed in 2020.
According to Cystat the registrations of motor vehicles during the period 2010-2020 ranged between 18,567 in 2013 and 49,450 in 2018.
The share of new vehicles in total registrations shows a downward trend. New vehicles constituted 38.03 per cent of total registrations in 2020 compared to 50.86 per cent in 2010.
In 2010 registrations of hybrid vehicles constituted only 0.43 per cent of total registrations whereas in 2020 this share reached 5.96 per cent.
The proportion of registrations of gasoline vehicles has dropped, while the proportion of diesel vehicles has increased.
In particular, in 2020 registrations of gasoline vehicles constituted 48.52 per cent of the total and of diesel vehicles 44.84 per cent, compared to 68.90 per cent and 30.64 per cent respectively in 2010.
The most common colour of motor vehicles registered in 2020 was white (35.24 per cent).
The number of licensed vehicles in 2020 was 759,268, of which 578,158 were passenger saloon cars.
Also, the average age of licensed passenger cars in 2020 was 13.2 years.
The transport ministry has signed a contract to upgrade a section of the old road from Paphos to Limassol near Petra tou Romiou, it announced on Thursday.
According to the contract which was signed by the public works department and Lambrou and Poutziouris construction company a 200-metre stretch of the road will be under construction for five months, starting from mid-May, at a cost of €740,000.
The project includes the erection of electricity poles, the construction of a retaining wall on the north side of the road, laying asphalt – preparing the sub base and installing a new surface – and work on a rainwater management system.
Tourists will be able to move around without sending an SMS, just with a special form, but they are not exempt from the measures that apply for everyone else, an official within the tourism industry clarified on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day a source had said the form would allow tourists to move around freely from 6am to 11pm with a form, called ‘declaration of movement’ to be provided by their travel agents or the hotels they are staying in as confirmation to be allowed to go out.
Director General of Cyprus Hotel Association (Pasyxe) Philokypros Roussounides clarified later in the day that the form will be given only in cases where tourists are unable to send an SMS, but they too will be subject to the restriction of two outings per day.
At the moment, residents are allowed only two outings per day up to three hours each and three on weekends. To do so they must obtain permission by sending an SMS to 8998.
Though people with a foreign mobile telephony provider may call a number for permission to go out, Roussounides said the introduction of the form was decided because there might be technical difficulties in having tourists sending SMSs.
The document will be used in the place of the SMS, in cases tourists are not able to send an SMS, he said.
Roussounides clarified that the form will be used to justify tourists’ outings and that they too are restricted to two outings per day.
Cyprus saw over 10,000 road accidents in 12 years with 729 fatalities
The majority of fatal traffic accidents’ victims in Cyprus are men, while most of those killed failed to wear a seatbelt or a helmet, data from the justice ministry has revealed.
Cyprus saw 729 deaths from traffic accidents in the last 12 years, with 571 or 78 per cent being men, the advisor of the minister of justice for road safety Iasonas Senekis told the Cyprus News Agency this week.
Police recorded 10,542 collisions that resulted in 15,173 injuries in that period.
Of those, 5,950 people were seriously injured and 9,223 were slightly injured. Another 5,687 traffic accidents were recorded without any injuries.
The biggest number of fatalities was recorded in 2008 with 82 victims, while 2013 saw the fewest number of deaths with 43 dying on the road.
“The more one analyses the statistics, one understands that the road does not discriminate. The numbers reveal some truths but only half the picture, because next to each number there is a name,” Sekkeris said.
More than half of the road deaths were recorded in Nicosia and Limassol which counted 221 and 212 deaths respectively.
Car drivers and passengers accounted for 323 of the deaths, with 60 per cent not wearing a seatbelt. Another 224 concerned drivers and passengers on motorcycles with 54 per cent failing to wear a helmet, the official added. The total deaths included 17 children aged under 15.
Concerning the factors that cause overall road accidents, the primary culprit is alcohol with 26 per cent of all accidents. Reckless and careless driving was the main factor in 22 per cent, and speed 12 per cent. But speed was the main factor in one third of the fatal accidents.
“The severity of the collision and consequently the injuries are greatly affected by the speed of the vehicles involved,” Sekkeris said.
Sekkeris cited a study on this by the European transport safety council (ETSC) and the organisation for economic cooperation and development (OECD), as well as the executive seminar for speed and speed management last December.
He added that a Metropolitan police study in London in 2019 showed that speed contributed to 50 per cent of the fatal traffic accidents.
The Road Safety Council is considering which busy city streets will have their speed limit reduced from the current 50km/h to 30km/h.
Such a policy shift would be just one of the many sweeping reforms over the last year, from drastically overhauling traffic penalties to eventually reinstalling traffic cameras, in a bid to address Cyprus’ high rate of traffic fatalities.
As it stands, the 30km/h limit only applies near schools, some busy traffic junctions, a couple of streets in Nicosia and parts of the Limassol old town.
“This policy has many benefits, clearly making the roads safer – which will encourage more people to cycle in the cities and make it more likely children can play freely in their neighbourhoods,” Jason Senekkis, road safety advisor to the justice ministry, told the Cyprus Mail on Thursday.
He explained that the 30km/h limit will be introduced gradually, with a few streets to be identified throughout 2021.
The latest traffic committee meeting – attended by municipalities, police officers and ministries – supported the proposal to extend the areas covered by a 30km/h speed limit, with the Road Safety Council to decide which roads the change will apply to.
The plan is based on the Stockholm Declaration, which in March 2020 argued that streets with ‘mixed traffic’ – pedestrians, cars, cyclists, e-scooters and such – are better off with a 30km/h speed limit.
“Brussels has actually introduced the 30km/h speed limit across the city, with only some streets being exempt from this, in Cyprus we’re doing it the opposite way,” he said.
“Currently, [in Cyprus] most city streets are about 50km/h and some will become 30km/h.”
Senekkis also cited reduced pollution as another major benefit to the proposal, both in terms of noise and air quality.
The policy shift would certainly change the pace of city life, but perhaps also the face of it.
There are concerns as to how the speed limit would be enforced, as Senekkis says police should be the last resort.
A variety of methods could be used, he said, such as installing more street furniture, additional parking spaces to help narrow the streets, speed bumps – but this should not be overused, he adds – and even converting others into one-way roads.
Last year, the road transport department carried out a study which found that 70 per cent of road deaths in Cyprus occur within built-up areas. This far exceeds the EU average of 35 per cent.
The road transport department announced on Tuesday the rules concerning the importation of vehicles from the UK following its EU exit.
According to the department, an M1 category vehicle – passenger car with up to eight seats not including the driver – can be registered in Cyprus provided it is up to five-years-old on the date of arrival, counting from the date it had been registered new in any country.
This does not apply to M1 vehicles already transported or imported to Cyprus from the UK, but not yet registered, or will be loaded for shipping to the Republic by Monday, February 15.
These vehicles can be registered whenever, even if its age exceeds five years.
The department said to register, an M1 vehicle must be accompanied by the original registration certificate (V5c) from the UK, a valid Cypriot MOT, an EU Whole Vehicle Type-Approval (Wvta) or Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) in Cyprus.
A UK registration certificate issued by the end of last year constitutes adequate proof that the vehicle has Wvta, provided it bears the Wvta indication. The indication on the V5c is found at point K – Type of approval number – and is in the form of e.g e4*2007/46*0186*11.
If there is no such indication, to register the vehicle, it must receive the SVA in Cyprus.
Vehicles in the M2 and M3 categories (buses) and N1, N2, and N3 cargo transporters (vans, twin cabs, trucks) are registered irrespective of age, provided they have certification proving their emissions comply with EU standards on the date the vehicle was registered in any country for the first time and they are equipped with ABS.
The UK registration certificate issued by the end of the year is again considered adequate proof as concerns emissions provided the engine is the one stated in the document. If it is a different engine, the department wants a certificate that its emissions comply with the respective EU standards.
Category L vehicles – mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles, and quad bikes – will be registered irrespective of age, provided they are accompanied by the European certificate of conformity in force on the date of its first registration. The department also accepts a copy of the certificate issued by the manufacturer or their representative.
The department also accepts the UK registration certificate issued by the end of the year, which is considered adequate proof that the vehicle has Wvta, provided the document bears the approval of the type of vehicle.
The transport ministry has set fixed fares for taxis travelling to and from the airports, starting on March 1.
The fares include urban and rural taxi services.
In a written statement on Friday, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos called on taxi drivers to implement the newly set fares “as one of the steps taken to improve the taxi transport sector in Cyprus”.
The decision aimed to solve a longstanding problem mainly concerning the appropriate information of visitors, tourists and others who use the service.
“The establishment of fixed fares is expected to give credibility to taxi transport thus improving professionalism and increase passenger traffic,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry no driver is allowed to charge lower or higher than those rates.
Taxis carrying up to 4 passengers
Taxiscarrying 5 – 6
passengers
From
To
Day Price
Night Price
Day Price
Night Price
(06.00 – 20.30)
(20.30 – 06.00)
(06.00 – 20.30)
(20.30 – 06.00)
Larnaca Airport
Nicosia
€ 45
€ 50
€ 60
€ 65
Limassol
€ 50
€ 60
€ 65
€ 80
Larnaca
€ 15
€ 20
€ 20
€ 25
Protaras
€ 55
€ 65
€ 70
€ 85
Ayia Napa
€ 50
€ 60
€ 65
€ 80
Pissouri
€ 80
€ 95
€ 105
€ 125
Paphos, Peyia
€ 100
€ 120
€ 130
€ 155
Polis, Argaka, Pomos
€ 130
€ 150
€ 170
€ 195
Troodos Area
€ 85
€ 100
€ 110
€ 130
Pyrgos Tyllirias
€ 160
€ 190
€ 210
€ 245
Paphos Airport
Nicosia
€ 110
€ 130
€ 145
€ 170
Limassol
€ 50
€ 60
€ 65
€ 80
Larnaca
€ 100
€ 120
€ 130
€ 155
Famagusta Area
€ 130
€ 150
€ 170
€ 195
Paphos, Peyia
€ 20
€ 25
€ 25
€ 35
Polis, Argakas, Pomos
€ 45
€ 50
€ 60
€ 65
Troodos Area
€ 55
€ 65
€ 70
€ 85
Pyrgos Tyllirias
€ 75
€ 85
€ 95
€ 110
The above fixed fares include the cost of luggage carriage as well as the VAT. Fixed fares also apply on public holidays.
Road tax renewals for 2021 will start on January 7, the road transport department said on Wednesday.
The last date for renewals is March 11, 2021. After that date there will be a surcharge.
The road tax can be renewed for a period of three, six, nine or 12 months, it added.
Vehicles must have an MOT and insurance.
The department urged owners to renew their road tax in time and not to wait until the last minute to avoid potentially overloading he system which could lead to inconvenience.
All vehicle owners who had renewed their road tax in 2020 but do not intend to do so for 2021 must notify the department that they are immobilising their vehicle by completing form TOM12B. Failure to do so will mean the fee remains outstanding.
Vehicles for which the road tax was not renewed in 2020 and have not been declared as immobilised will be struck off the department’s registry unless the outstanding sum is paid and the road tax renewed by Thursday, March 11, 2021.
In the event that a vehicle has been scrapped, an application (form TOM98A) and a certificate to that effect issued by authorised facilities, must be submitted to the department so that the owner is no longer liable to pay road tax.
Road tax can be renewed throughout the year online, at banks, citizens’ help centres, district post offices and district offices of the road transport department of the transport ministry. Owners will not be sent notifications to renew their road tax, the department also said.
Source: Road tax renewals to start on January 7 | Cyprus Mail
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