THERE has been a reduction in traffic accidents from 2004 to 2005 but to meet the declared goal of halving traffic accidents by 2010, the police are taking certain measures that include lowering the legal alcohol limit, increasing police surveillance, raising penalties for youth violators, and introducing speed and traffic cameras.
In a presentation yesterday, police said that in 2004 there were a total of 117 road deaths, while in 2005 there were 102 deaths, a reduction of 12.8 per cent.
There was an even greater reduction in road injuries. In 2004, there were 3,293 injuries or deaths while in 2005 there were 2,396, a reduction of 807 victims, or 27.2 per cent.
Despite the decrease in road deaths from 2004, the number of road deaths in 2005 was still higher than in the previous three years. Ninety-eight people died on the roads in 2001, 94 died in 2002, and 97 in 2003.
In the past 15 years, the number of road deaths in Cyprus have ranged from a low of 94 to a high of 133.
The most serious car crashes in 2005 that took place in one month were in July and August (74 apiece) while the least were in February (41). Most accidents take place between the rush hour of 5pm and 7pm.
In every age group, men were involved in more accidents in 2005 than women, with 18-25 year old males topping the accident chart.
Statistics suggest that most, or at least many, of the deaths could have been warded off if basic protective measures had been followed. In 2005, 74 per cent of car crash victims did not wear seatbelts, while 58.3 per cent of the motorcycle and moped victims were without helmets.
Excessive speed accounted for 34.4 per cent of the total road deaths.
Out of the 32 blood tests taken on dead drivers in 2005, 13 of them (40.6 per cent) exceeded the legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit.
With Cyprus maintaining one of the worst records in terms of road deaths in Europe, the government last year pledged to halve road deaths by 2010.
To reach the 50 per cent reduction goal the police yesterday revealed their ‘Strategic Plan’, which focuses in reducing the number of youth in car crashes and the number of drunk drivers.
As part of the plan, laws will be amended to increase the penalties for young people and to reduce the legal BAC limit from 0.9 mg/ml to 0.5 mg/ml, the average limit within the European Union.
Specific laws for roundabouts and traffic lights will also be created since they do not presently exist. There are also plans to implement legislation regarding the use of anti-radar devices.
In an effort to educate the public – which as the Permanent Secretary of the Works Ministry recently said “shows a serious lack of awareness” – educational programmes will take place every month focusing on a key issue such as seatbelts, alcohol, excessive speed and mobiles/hands-free.
Justice Minister Doros Theodorou said that car accidents cost the state £160 million per year and lead to immeasurable human suffering.
“People never overcome from the shock,” Theodorou said.
Traffic cameras
A number of speed cameras and traffic light cameras will also be mounted at intersections and on the roadside. The cameras were mounted and set to begin operation in December but technical glitches have led to an ongoing delay in their introduction.
Police chief Charalambos Koulendis told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the cameras would be up and running by May 15.
The cameras will not only clock people for speeding and running through red lights, but also for sneaking over the line and into the intersection before the light changes, a common practice among Cypriot drivers.
This has caused people to question the rationality of the cameras, since almost all drivers in Cyprus stop beyond the white stop line.
But Koulendis said that merely touching the white line would not warrant a ticket. “You will have to drive a good way over the stop line to get ticketed,” Koulendis said.
