Police gear up for long weekend

TRAFFIC police will be out in full force over the August 15 weekend, police said yesterday.

Traffic police chief Demetris Demetriou said authorities had drawn up an action plan to tackle the “four asphalt killers”. These were drink driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and not wearing a crash helmet, he said.

Demetriou urged motorists to adhere to the Highway Code and said under no circumstances should drivers get behind the wheel if they had been drinking alcohol.

“Alcohol and driving is flirting with death,” he said, pointing out that drink driving was still the number one cause of fatal road accidents.

Based on previous years’ statistics increased congestion was expected on Sunday, August 14 and Monday, August 15 on the Nicosia-Astromeritis road, the Limassol-Troodos road and roads leading to the coast, he said.

“Additional measures will be put in place on these roads,” he added.

Asked whether road works on the Nicosia-Limassol highway entering and exiting the capital would affect traffic policing, Demetriou said they would not as construction works would continue at night.

The traffic police chief also said that road works around the new roundabout entering and exiting the Nicosia highway, which currently delayed traffic, should be completed by September so as to avoid an added traffic burden when schools re-opened after the summer recess.

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