Police issue Xmas warning to drivers

Police on Sunday urged drivers to be responsible during the festive season, after several involved in car crashes in the last 24 hours were found to have been over the alcohol limit.

Fortunately, police said, there were no serious injuries.

“It is often said that we suffer from a lack of a proper culture in terms of road safety and that this is the main cause of traffic accidents. This view, unfortunately, is confirmed several times by the findings of the investigation of each accident,” police said in an announcement.

It added that excessive speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and careless driving, were the three main causes of fatal road accidents over the last five years.

These factors had been the cause of more than 60 per cent of all fatal road accidents between 2012 and 2016, the police said adding that “150 of the 243 victims of fatal road accidents, lost their lives due to speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or careless driving”.

“Once again, the Cyprus Police, appeals to all drivers, to adhere faithfully to the road code. The underlying risks are many and drivers put both themselves and other road users at risk,” it said.

“It would be a shame to mourn more victims,” this festive season the police said.

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The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.