Police target 10 per cent drop in road deaths

POLICE yesterday unveiled plans to slash road deaths by ten per cent in 2007.
The force is set to get tough on people not wearing their seatbelts, with 17 lives unnecessarily lost last year due to drivers or passengers not wearing them. The same applies to motorcyclists not donning crash helmets, with 14 dying last year because they were not wearing a helmet.

The government is also set to ratify a bill, which introduces stricter punishments for young drivers who break the law, as well as giving police the right to detain vehicles. The proposed legislation is looking at doubling the number of penalty points for people in the first three years of their driving licence. If, after the first three years drivers have received 12 points on their licenses, it will be confiscated and they will have to pass another driving test in order to get it back.

The handing out of advertising leaflets at traffic lights is also set to be outlawed.
Three people have already died on the island’s roads so far this year, with last year seeing 86 killed, 16 fewer than in 2005, with the total standing at 86. Since 2000, a total of 619 people have been involved in fatal road accidents.
Last year, fatalities in the Famagusta area were down by a massive 82 per cent, while up by 20 per cent in Nicosia.

November last year was the month with the most carnage on the roads, with 13 dead, followed by May with 11.

Interestingly, Thursday was the worst day of the week for fatal accidents, with 17 incidents happening just before the beginning of the weekend.
The most dangerous time of day to be a motorist last year was between six pm and midnight.

Nineteen pedestrians were also killed, as well as 19 motorcyclists and two cyclists.
Dangerous driving and inexperience were to blame for the majority of cases (28), while excessive speed was attributed to 22 deaths.
There are also plans to issue an updated version of the Highway Code this year, with the current one dating back to 1973.

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