MANY vehicles on the roads are not undergoing proper MOT tests and servicing, resulting in them being not roadworthy and polluting the environment.
The Sunday Mail has recently been contacted by several people who are outraged over the situation.
Savvas Ioannou said the problem was not restricted to private cars, with government vehicles just as much to blame.
“A few days ago, I was stuck behind an ambulance which was chugging out thick, black smoke from its exhaust,” he said. “The ambulance passed a police radar check, but they did nothing about it. All they seem to be interested in is tax revenue and collecting money, rather than safety and the environment. Seeing this, it makes me think that the government doesn’t care about rising pollution levels and the effect this will have on our children and the eco-system.”
He added that this was not an isolated incident. “I’ve lost count of the number of times that I have witnessed cars that are obviously not roadworthy on the streets. A lot of them are pick-ups, travelling well below the speed limit, holding up traffic and spewing out smoke.
“In most countries around the world, a driver would be pulled over immediately if the police saw this disgusting, black smoke coming from their exhausts and taken off the road and made to fix the problem. If these vehicles had to undergo MOT tests, they would surely fail. I dread to think what else is wrong with them and wouldn’t be surprised if many were deathtraps.
“It’s just the latest example of poor road safety for which Cyprus has developed such a bad reputation. The government really needs to instruct the police not only to clampdown on speeding and drink driving but also on the road-worthiness of vehicles.”
Marinos Antoniades also called for action to be taken. “So many times, I’ve been stopped at a red light and, as the vehicle in front of me pulls away, my car gets covered in a cloud of smoke,” he said. Aside from the obvious danger of not being able to see anything, what about the impact on the environment?
“On a couple of occasions, I’ve looked in my rear view mirror and seen pedestrians, who have been in the line of fire, start to cough their lungs out.
“On a lighter note, but nonetheless something that drives me mad, is the fact that my car gets really dirty.”
Stavros Othonos, director of the Ministry of Commerce’s Electromechanical Services, defended the government.
“We correctly maintain all government vehicles through their agents and have maintenance contracts with suppliers,” he said. “Every two years, vehicles must undergo an MOT test and we have a formula where we renew vehicles if they have reached 8-10 years of age and/or 200,000 kilometres on the clock.”
He added that police and military vehicles have their own inspectors.
“From my own personal experiences, I can say that it’s not government vehicles that pollute the environment, but old, private vehicles. It is imperative that when these vehicles go for an MOT, that the proper procedures are followed by garages. Sadly, I’ve heard of many cases where this does not happen, and it’s this factor that leads to these cars circulating on the roads.
“It is highly unlikely that our vehicles are not roadworthy as we maintain them more regularly than private car owners. If you have maintenance contracts, as we do, you are obliged to maintain a vehicle after a set number of kilometres in accordance with the manufacturers’ recommendations.”
Takis Kyriakides, the General Manager of the Cyprus Automobile Association explained that the problem of cars in Cyprus polluting the environment is a long-running one.
“I am constantly noticing this,” he said. “In fact, just this morning, I was behind a pick-up which covered my car in this smoke which you are referring to. For sure, these cars are not roadworthy and I really don’t know how they are able to circulate. Do they not pass MOT tests or have road tax? I simply cannot explain it.”
He went on to say that the AA years ago suggested introducing a policy whereby cars with additional safety features such as ABS braking, would benefit from a reduction in tax, but the suggestion has fallen on deaf ears. “The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), who are dedicated to representing the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users around the world, have been promoting this policy, but nothing has been done here.”
Green Party leader George Perdikis said that he was aware of the problem. “Yes, we’ve heard about these complaints before, with military vehicles in particular to blame.” he said. “The important thing to take into account here is that the vehicles must pass MOT tests and be properly serviced.”
Assistant Director of Traffic Police, Andreas Laos, insisted that the police know about the problem. “Our officers will pull over and fine any driver whose vehicle is emitting smoke or giving them cause to believe that there is something wrong with it. The driver is then made to fix the problem,” he said.
YOUR GREATEST POLLUTING ACT
DRIVING a car is the most polluting act an average citizen commits. Emissions from passenger vehicles are increasing despite attempts to make engines more fuel efficient, and despite the addition of anti-pollution devices. The main reason is that cars are getting bigger and pick-up trucks, vans and sports vehicles are often replacing smaller, lighter passenger cars. The average new vehicle in 2005 consumed more fuel that its counterpart in 1988.
It’s been estimated that both local and global pollution would be dramatically improved if every motorist pledged to use their car 30 per cent less, starting immediately.
