Road Safety

Cypriots have a complete disregard for traffic laws – Cyprus Mail

Although a very drastic measure (renouncing her Cypriot citizenship) I do sympathise with the lady. Especially sensitive as she has been abused and bullied over this.

Unfortunately locals habitually disregard the laws especially the traffic laws. When we visit we always find that cars abuse the traffic light symbols either by going on red or slowly creeping forward on red, parking on pavements, across driveways in between parking bays, you name it.

The parking in the middle of 2 parking bays is so common that my wife has named this whenever we see it as ‘Cypriot parking’ .

Sad but true.

JI

Source: Cypriots have a complete disregard for traffic laws – Cyprus Mail

The Cyprus Highway Code

The Highway Code is available in book shops and is fully illustrated.

It can be downloaded, in Greek only, pdf here.

There is also a PowerPoint presentation, also in Greek, which can be downloaded here.

Some of it is similar to the UK Highway Code but with the updates to the UK version, there are now some major differences.
Many of the differences between the two Codes are outlined within this site.

The Highway Code can be used to assist a prosecution.

Drink Driving

How much can I drink and stay under the limit?

There is no fool-proof way of drinking and staying under the limit. It depends on:

  1. your weight
  2. your gender
  3. your metabolism
  4. what you are drinking
  5. how much you are drinking
  6. your current stress levels
  7. whether you’ve eaten recently
  8. your age

Drink driving in Cyprus.

High risk groups of drivers in Cyprus have a  limit of 9 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath (20 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood).

High risk groups:

  1. Novice drivers
  2. motorcycles,
  3. trucks
  4. buses
  5. taxis
  6. vehicles transporting hazardous cargoes

The limit for most drivers.
The limit is lower than England and Wales and the same as Scotland at 22 micrograms per 100 ml of breath (50 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood).

  1. The reading from 23 to 35 micrograms – fine €100 – 0 – 2 penalty points
  2. reading 36 to 55 micrograms -fine €200 – 2 – 4 penalty points
  3. reading 56 to 70 micrograms – fine €300 – 3 – 6 penalty points
  4. Over 71 micrograms – Prison or fine between €150 – €400 will be determined by the court – 3 – 6 penalty points
  5. Drunk in charge of a vehicle. Determined by the court

Speed and Safety

Speed and Safety

These are the key points to remember:

  1. Do not drive at speed unless you are competent and it is safe to do so.
  2. Be familiar with the controls and the handling characteristics of your vehicle – use the controls smoothly.
  3. High speed driving requires maximum alertness. If you cannot achieve a high level of attentiveness because of fatigue or some other cause, reduce your speed.
  4. Always drive so you can stop on your own side of the road within the distance you can see to be clear, by day or night.
  5. If you double your speed you quadruple your braking distance.
  6. Put into practice the skills developed. They are designed to maximize safety.
  7. Be aware of the onset of fatigue and take the appropriate action. Open a window or stop and take a break.
  8. No emergency is so great that it justifies an accident. It is far better to arrive late than not at all.
  9. To avoid having to speed and to reduce stress, plan to leave for your journey ten minutes earlier. This will allow you to arrive on time, safely and in a better condition.
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