Concern over licences for 17 year olds

AKEL yesterday expressed concerns over the efficacy of a proposed law to allow teenagers to get their learner’s driving licence a year earlier.

“It may look like a progressive measure but it has serious risks in increasing traffic accidents,” AKEL deputy Andreas Fakontis said after a meeting of the House Communications committee.

The bill provides that learner’s licences be issued to 17-year-olds on condition that every time they drive in the next 12 months they will be accompanied by a licensed driver over the age of 25.

Fakontis said this was dangerous considering that almost one in two people killed on the road were under the age of 25.

“We (AKEL) have the view that this legislation cannot be implemented – a learner will not be accompanied by an experienced driver while” on the road, Fakontis said.

He said that the majority of youth organisations and organised parents disagreed with the bill.

The committee yesterday discussed regulations concerning number plates and other traffic aspects.

According to the regulations, only licensed businesses will be able to produce plates, which will be uniform.

The plates of all vehicles will have the same colour with the exception of taxis, whose plates will be yellow.

Government vehicles will carry state plates designating the ministry they belong to.

The regulations also ban the use of front, driver and co-driver tinted windows and call for a uniform type of number plates for motorcycles.

They also prohibit stickers on the windshield, including the road tax.

Military vehicles will be exempted.

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