By Bouli Hadjioannou
MOTOR vehicles in Cyprus are not being inspected properly – at the expense both of the environment and road safety, Auditor-general Spyros Christou has warned.
In a special section in his annual report for 1996, Christou said that motor vehicle inspection in Cyprus was practically non-existent compared to the situation in the European Union.
And he warned “harmful elements in emissions” from diesel-powered vehicles were much higher than those permitted by the European Union.
“Even though the issue had been under study for several years, there is uncontrolled pollution of the environment and noise pollution, while road safety is adversely affected. At the same time, the Motor Vehicle Inspection Centres set up more than 10 years ago remain underused,” he said.
Spyrou noted the department of road transport had stopped inspecting private motor vehicles in 1982, and public vehicles in May 1996.
Although considerable sums of money were spent on building and equipping special centres, these were never properly manned to carry out their aim.
Police road safety campaigns have shown that some 80 per cent of cars over eight years old – that is more than 150,000 vehicles – had mechanical and other problems (poor steering, worn tyres, faulty lights and emissions).
There is no clear government policy on inspection. And no decision has been taken on studies carried out by foreign experts and department officials several years ago, including the possibility of bringing in the private sector.
There are gaps in the law as to how often vehicles should be inspected and the specifications of imported cars.
Spyrou notes that there is double damage to the environment – from the lack of control in emissions but also from the poor quality of the fuel used, especially diesel.
In diesel, sulphur levels were above one per cent, even though the European Union speaks of a ceiling of 0.05 per cent. Other “harmful substances in fumes (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides) dramatically exceed the permitted levels of the EU”, he said.
Spyrou said a study had shown 10 per cent of vehicles with high emissions were responsible for 40 per cent of carbon monoxide emissions and 30 per cent of hydrocarbons.
And he notes that although statistics show only one per cent of accidents were attributed to mechanical faults, studies abroad indicate some 10 per cent of accidents are in fact due to the state of the car.
His recommendations include the soonest possible launch of regular inspections according to EU specifications, the preparation of new laws and regulations based on EU directives to regulate the inspection of motor vehicles and the inclusion of provisions for emissions and improving the quality of fuel, especially diesel.
