MEMBERS OF large families are complaining that the new law obliging motorists to install three seat belts in the back seat of cars left them out in the cold, as they can no longer travel without exposing themselves to legal violations.
Implementation of the law on safety belts commenced on July 1 and police began searching scores of cars to check for compliance.
Deputy Chief of Traffic Police, Andreas Paphitis, said yesterday police were initially handing out written warnings, giving people the opportunity to adapt to the changes, but cautioned that these warnings would become charges within the next few days.
European examples, Paphitis said, had repeatedly proven that rear seat safety belts mitigated the dangers of loss of life in road accidents and implored the Cypriot public to take heed of the fact.
Vice-Chairman of the Pancyprian Large Families Association (PLFA), Gabriel Gabrielides, charged the government yesterday with rushing to implement the law before devising an appropriate scheme for tax concessions on cars belonging to large families. By definition, a large family consists of four or more children. The result, said Gabrielides, was that families with more than three children could no longer take a trip to the beach unless they left one member behind.
The law currently provides one-off grant of £2,000 for large families to purchase a car. Alternatively, they may purchase a 12-seater minibus duty-free. Gabrielides explained this was not always the safest or most efficient option for large families with no more than four children.
The PLFA had asked the government for the option of large families to purchase 7-seater vehicles duty-free, thereby easing the pressure to remain within the limits of the law while securing insurance coverage for all passengers, which at present they can not do when commuting in a 5-seater vehicle.
In response to calls to exempt large families from the law on rear seat safety belts Communications Minister Averoff Neophytou said on Monday that it was up to parliament to make such amendments as his conscience would not allow him to do so. Neophytou stressed the question of seat belts in the back seat should not be used as a tool to contest entitlement to duty-free cars.
Gabrielides replied to Neophytou yesterday saying, “The PLFA never asked for a Mercedes. The government may indicate which 7-seater duty-free car would be available for large families if they like. As long as we have the opportunity to take our children with us when we travel.”
From Monday, seat belts became compulsory for motor vehicles carrying up to eight passengers, excluding the driver. Vehicles carrying more than eight passengers and weighing up to 3.5 tonnes or goods carrying vehicles with mass weight up to 3.5 tonnes require safety belts in the front seats only. Penalties for not wearing or installing seat belts include up to three months imprisonment or a £500 fine.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
