NEW drivers, be warned: no longer will you be able to run amok once you get your hands on a glitzy new Mini Cooper S or dad’s more conventional sedan.
At least, that’s the idea behind a drastic bill approved by the Cabinet last week that would come down like a ton of bricks on inexperienced motorists.
From now on, drivers with less than two years’ experience will get double the penalty points, meaning just a couple of infractions on the road could cost them their licence.
Currently, people amassing 12 points must go to court, which will then decide on a case-by-case basis whether the offences warrant taking a driver off the streets.
The austere measure targets the 18-21 age group and aims to curb the alarmingly high road death toll in Cyprus, which is well over one-and-a-half times the EU average.
Studies made by the Traffic Department show that that approximately 95 per cent of accidents are due to human error, and that the number of fatalities has been steadily rising since 2002.
Moreover, most of the accidents occur in the early morning hours of Saturday and Sunday, a direct association to youths.
But the amendment goes farther than that: souped-up cars, the scourge of law-abiding drivers, may now be impounded or even confiscated if their owner commits a traffic offence.
Obviously, police would need to catch them first.
And there will no excuse for parents who knowingly or inadvertently let their underage kids get hold of the family car. So far, it was at the court’s discretion to punish the owners of the vehicle. Excuses such as “he or she stole the keys from the kitchen table” will no longer hold any water. The responsibility for any accident will fall squarely on their shoulders.
Though the amendment may sound high-handed, its supporters say its purpose is to save lives But it remains to be seen whether it will have a tangible impact on wayward drivers. Cypriot motorists have proved to be notoriously immune to stiffer penalties, usually in the form of fines.
Critics say that a more effective deterrent would be to extend the time between when someone loses their licence and when the slate is wiped clean.
Authorities were galvanised into taking action early last year, after two teenagers tragically died when a motorbike crashed into them. The 20-year-old biker, doing wheelies at the time, was later found guilty of manslaughter.
