Action on cameras

Extra set of eyes destined for cities’ traffic lights

SECRET cameras are set to be fitted to traffic lights in various locations around Cyprus in a move the Traffic Department hopes will reduce road accidents considerably.

The aim of these electronic eyes is to capture motorists who are speeding and who disobey the traffic signals.

Police have also warned drivers will also be charged if the photographs catch them violating any other part of the traffic code – such as not wearing a seatbelt or talking on a mobile phone. These photographs will not be available to the public.

The major decisions for the implementation were taken in a meeting that took place earlier in the week. The infrastructure of the first of five phases is almost complete and, according to the contract, the system should be enforced by November 28.

The first phase will be on a trial basis with 40 cameras installed – out of which only 23 will be real.

It was also decided that mobile cameras also be made available for traffic police to use on highways.

After discussions, the locations of the cameras were decided. Main points include all of the cities’ main avenues:

Nicosia – Grivas Digenis, Demosthenis Severis, Limassol, Makarios and Digenis Akrita.
Limassol – Omonoia, Spyros Kyprianou, Amathountas and Omonoias and Paphou.
Larnaca – Limassol & Faneromenis and Artemidos.

Danai Avenue and the road to Universal will have cameras in Paphos.

Six cameras will also be installed on the road between Anthoupolis and Palechori in the Nicosia district.

The system will be on a trial basis for the following nine months so that possible weaknesses and improvements can be spotted and rectified.

Whether the cameras will respond successfully in bad weather, such as rain and fog, remains to be seen.

Andreas Laos, head of the Road Safety department commented: “Our main concern is to save human lives. And I think we can accomplish that with the installation of these cameras.”
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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.