AN AD-HOC meeting chaired by President Tassos Papadopoulos on the disturbing rise in road deaths this year concluded with a pledge of immediate action to curb the increasing number of road accidents, including measures to impose higher traffic violation penalties, install speed cameras and instil road safety awareness from a young age.
The meeting, called by the President after the death toll on the roads this month surpassed 75 for the year, was attended by the Ministers of Justice, Defence, and Communications and Works, while Education Ministry officials, the Attorney-general, Chief of Police and head of the National Guard were also present.
Justice Minister Doros Theodorou said after the meeting that worrying rise in road deaths convinced all parties involved that the time had come to change legislation immediately and impose stiffer penalties on traffic violators to act as real deterrents.
Short and long term measures were decided during the meeting. Part of the immediate measures include tabling a new bill in Parliament to increase penalties on traffic violations.
“These penalties are seen as seen as so low they no longer act as deterrents and that is why the first decision we have taken is to suggest legal changes to Parliament at least for on the spot charges if not more,” said Theodorou.
It is hoped higher penalties will prevent speeding, which statistics show is the number one cause of road accidents, he added.
Further preventive measures include the installation of speed cameras, which record violators and issue fines without the need for human interaction.
Meanwhile, police will intensify their presence on roads, especially on weekends when young people are out in force and after midnight, he said.
In the long-term, Theodorou said the aim was to create road conscience drivers in Cyprus.
By next month, a new road training park in Athalassa will open to school pupils who will be trained on general traffic rules and safety on the roads. Similar training will be undertaken in the schools and the National Guard. October 1 will also mark a year long awareness campaign on road safety.
The minister called on the mass media, parent, student and youth organisations to co-operate with the police to achieve the aim of the five-year plan, to cut road deaths by 50 per cent.
Other measures include tougher driving licence examinations to guarantee the understanding of road safety and road consciousness. The minister also said legislation on engine size had to be changed for motorbikes or mopeds to coincide with the age of the driver.
Regarding timeframes, Theodorou said the bill on penalties would be tabled in parliament by the end of October, while speed cameras needed another four or five months yet.
