LEO LEONIDOU asked Nicosia drivers what they thought of the new road safety system
WITH the traffic cameras catching 325 people on their first day of official operation, we went out and about in the capital’s streets to ask the public what they thought of the new system.
Opinion seemed to be divided. Charlie Themistocleous, who recently returned to live on the island from the UK, was very much against them. “I know for a fact that cameras, although they may have the intention of improving road safety, are actually run for revenue-generating purposes,” he said.
“I read in Autocar magazine last year that road safety groups proved that cameras merely change driving patterns and styles, with figures showing they make little difference to the number of injuries and fatalities. I would be much happier if the money was spent on improving the roads. A viable and reliable option to the car must be introduced to the island.”
When asked whether he would now be driving more carefully, Themistocleous shrugged. “I don’t think I need to change my driving style as I’m a responsible driver anyway. However, I will pay extra attention to where the cameras are located to ensure I don’t pick up a fine.”
He added that during the recent grace period, “I was flashed late at night on an open road travelling at just over 50 kph.”
Howard Jones, a retired university professor of environmental studies in the UK, agreed. “My experience of traffic cameras across Europe is that they are abused by the government and the police to provide additional revenue.
“Rarely are they positioned at accident black spots and are often located on long, straight highways.
“I feel that the most dangerous drivers are joy riders in towns but instead of using the police to clamp down on them, I only ever see checks on highways.
“Traffic cameras have also been found to create a different type of menace as drivers learn their locations. People drive really quickly when approaching them, slow down for the camera and then speed off again to make up for the time that they’ve lost slowing down.”
Marianna Nicolaides described the cameras as a good idea but she expressed reservations about their effectiveness.
“Drivers here never learn,” she sighed. “Whether driving around like lunatics, talking on mobiles or not wearing their seatbelts, they are a menace to law-abiding motorists.
The only way they will ever learn is to hit them where it hurts in their wallets and on their driving licences.”
Kiosk manager John Ioannou also approved of the cameras.
“The current hand-held radar speed checks are inaccurate. Plus, anything that slows down these idiotic boy-racers is a good move. This is a positive development and I hope that they put up these cameras all over towns.”
Eleni Socrates, who commutes from Larnaca to Nicosia on a daily basis had a different take on the issue though. “This way we’ll avoid the phenomenon of policemen running out into the middle of the road and scaring us to death,” she said, adding that she has decided to drive, “according to the letter of the law to avoid being snapped”.
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