INSURANCE companies yesterday defended the need for police to attend even the most minor traffic accidents, saying drivers simply could not be relied upon to exchange details and admit responsibility.
The comments came after Justice Minister Doros Theodorou said on Tuesday that police were wasting hundreds of thousands of working hours attending minor traffic accidents in which no one was injured.
But Vassos Aristocleous of Commercial Union Insurance yesterday told the Cyprus Mail the need police needed to attend accident scenes because of people’s attitudes.
“What it boils down to is that Cypriots are different from people in other countries and are not often able to come to an agreement. When two cars crash, the drivers may at the time admit who is at fault and exchange telephone numbers and insurance details, but the next day they change their mind and the person who is at fault refuses to take the blame and contact his insurance company,” said Aristocleous.
“This is why the police are needed to attend the scene of the accident. They can then determine who is actually at fault and see how the accident took place,” said Aristocleous.
He explained the police then had evidence that the accident did in fact happen. “If the person responsible for the car accident, then decides to forfeit the blame, he can be taken to court, as police have record of the accident,” said Aristocleous.
However, police are inclined to agree with Justice Minister Doros Theodorou, who believes they are wasting time on minor accidents leaving them with less time to deal with serious crime.
Theodorou revealed police were spending 150,000 working hours per year in attending minor accidents and writing up reports.
DISY deputy Nikos Tornaritis has suggested it should no longer be mandatory for police to deal with car scrapes. He has tabled a bill that states the police are not obliged to visit the scenes of small accidents, where the vehicle has sustained minimal damage and nobody was injured.
Tornaritis argues this would lessen the traffic congestion caused minor car accidents.
He feels the drivers involved in accidents should be able to admit who is at fault, exchange contact details and be on their way, without having to involve the police.
If the bill is passed, police will be able to concentrate on serious matters and execute the duties they are meant to in order to assure public order, Tornaritis says.
One policeman from the Nicosia traffic department told the Cyprus Mail there were approximately 40 car accidents recorded every day in Nicosia, 20 of them minor crashes, where a bumper may have been dented or a brake light broken.
“We have to respond to the calls and visit the accident scenes if people ask us to do so. This is mainly because they cannot agree to settle the matter amongst themselves. So we are called to record the accident so they can then be covered by their insurance,” the police officer said.
“If the people could admit who is at fault and walk away without then changing their mind, there would be no need for the police to intervene as no crime has been committed.
“It is a waste of valuable police time,” the officer admitted.
