in-cyprus 8 May 2020 - by Bouli Hadjioannou
Despite a near two month lockdown, Cyprus has managed to record an increase in road fatalities compared to last year.
So far, 13 people have lost their lives on the roads since January 1 — three more than the corresponding period in 2019. There were five fatalities in January 2020.
Four people were killed in the period from March 16 when restrictive measures were introduced to contain the spread of coronavirus through to May 4, when phase one of a gradual easing of the lockdown started.
The latest road fatality was that of a 62 year pedestrian who was killed when he was hit by a car driven by a 70 year old near Dali.
There was no pavement and lighting was poor.
However that accident has revived discussion about elderly drivers. Speaking on Alpha TV on Friday, deputy traffic chief at police headquarter Haris Evripidou called for special rules.
Currently drivers must present a health certificate to renew their driving licence once they are 70, irrespective of the specialisation of the doctor.
Evripidou said that there have been cases of certificates from pediatricians and gynecologists. Police wanted a special committee to handle such issues, he said.
