Government vows to slash number of road accidents

THE government has pledged to reduce the number of road accidents by 50 per cent until 2010, using an EU harmonising plan.

Around 100 people are killed in 22,000 accidents each year in Cyprus and 10,000 people are either seriously or slightly injured.

One of the ways in which the government aims to clamp down on speeding drivers is with the use of cameras set up on main roads which are controlled by traffic lights, as well as on the island’s motorways.

According to a preliminary study, experts predict that once the system is fully operational it will help reduce the number of accidents by more than 15 per cent, since drivers will be faced with hefty fines if caught speeding on camera, and will therefore drive more carefully.

At the same time, the Ministry of Communications and Works will focus on public awareness programmes that will be introduced in schools, and on informing the public on how to obey the traffic code, as well as the consequences of breaking the law.

The ministry has also marked every dangerous part of the island’s road network, around 360 points in Nicosia, Paphos and Troodos, and is expected to improve them, while at the same time increasing the number of police officers on patrol on motorways.

The government is also expected to be stricter with traffic violators with the £115,000 in yearly fines expected to rise in an effort to force drivers to be more careful.

The plan is expected to be studied by the Traffic Board next month and put forward for approval and implementation.

Meanwhile, the holiday weekend passed without any fatalities on the roads. However, 32 people where injured in 24 accidents.

In Nicosia, two people were seriously injured and one slightly injured in three accidents. Five people were slightly injured in four accidents in Famagusta.

In Paphos, nine people were slightly injured in six accidents over the holidays while no accidents have been recorded in the Morphou district.

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.