By Anthony O. Miller
DESPITE tough traffic policing throughout the Christmas-New Year period – more than twice the number of tickets were issued than in 1997 – this year’s holiday death toll was double that of last, police data showed yesterday.
Traffic department Commander George Voutounos said he was disappointed by the death rate rise, but insisted “we sent the right message (to motorists) that we intend to… combat this situation”.
Voutounos had publicly warned motorists that, from December 19 to January 10, his officers would be out in force to snare speeders, drink-drivers and careless overtakers. The figures indicate he meant business.
During that period, police issued 5,674 traffic tickets – more than double the 2,577 issued over the 1997 holidays. “Our main object was combatting speed,” Voutounos said, adding that 3,525 of this year’s tickets were for speeding (1,460 speeding tickets in 1997).
Police also made 1,298 drink-driving traffic stops this year (versus only 803 over the 1997 holidays), and arrested 36 suspected drink-drivers (11 in 1997).
Most of the drink-driving tickets were issued in Limassol, with Larnaca coming second, Nicosia third, and Paphos last in the drink-drive category.
Voutounos was clearly disappointed that, despite his extra patrols, 10 people died in seven fatal accidents over these holidays, bringing 1998’s total to 110 deaths in 101 fatal road wrecks. “They were all due to the negligence of the driver,” Voutounos said.
The figures contrasted with five deaths in five fatal accidents during the 1997 holiday season, he said, for a 1997 year-end total of 115 deaths in 101 fatal crashes.
While both years’ death tolls were high, per capita, 1998 saw five fewer road fatalities than the previous year.
Voutounos noted that five tourists were killed in two of the fatal collisions, and a British Bases soldier on a motorcycle made the sixth non- Cypriot holiday fatality.
Except for these “foreigners”, he said, the island’s fatal accidents would have claimed only four victims over the holiday period – one fewer than 1997 – and more in keeping with his stated goal of cutting road fatalities by 10 per cent per year.
Voutounos said at least a third of the island’s road deaths involve tourists, many of them unused to driving on the left side of the road.
One encouraging measure of his department’s success, he said, is that road accidents killed or injured 566 fewer people – 4,039 in 1998 – than in 1997, when 4,606 died or were injured.
This holiday season there were 43 serious accidents, 14 fewer than the previous year’s 57. And 49 people were seriously injured in them, 22 fewer than the 71 people seriously injured in 1997.
In addition, 93 minor traffic accidents slightly injured only 124 people in 1998 – 54 fewer than the 178 people slightly hurt in an identical 93 minor accidents in 1997.
Voutounos noted “there are bills” that the Ministry of Communications and Works is considering submitting to parliament for the purchase of hidden cameras to snap highway speeders and urban traffic light jumpers.
“If the Ministry gives us the equipment… we will be in a position to achieve good results,” he said. “With this equipment, we can do our job more easily (because) it’s not necessary to have police present” where there are cameras.
“I’m determined to continue the campaign. I’m going to increase the police numbers on the highways. I’m going to… co-ordinate with the districts to face this situation all over Cyprus,” Voutounos said.
He said motorists can expect more radar traps year-round throughout the island.
