Filenews 24 May 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
An extension to the receipt of the first phase of the cameras was requested by the Department of Electromechanical Services from the Central Committee for Changes and Claims (KEAA) due to the accumulation of a huge number of complaints that do not allow the system to move to the second phase.
At the same time, it seems impossible to implement the commitment made by the managing company at a meeting under the Ministers of Transport and Justice, by 30 May, to have sent all the extrajudicial documents that emerged during the pilot phase. According to information from "F", at the moment around 27,000 out-of-court drivers have been sent to offending drivers, but most of the volume remains either unprocessed or has been processed, but they have not yet left for the post office.
Last month, two meetings had discussed the issue of the excessive delay in sending out-of-court staff and until last week they were sent out of court concerning complaints made in January. The number of out-of-court cases today has exceeded 60,000 and it is unknown when they will be sent to those affected. The Minister of Communications, Transport and Works, Yiannis Karousos, had warned the contractor that we will not go to the next phase, which is phase A, unless all the extrajudicial documents are sent and essentially we reach the point where the complaints are sent immediately. What is happening now is that the out-of-court order is being sent in May for a complaint made on January 21, so the driver does not even remember that he passed through the intersection that day.
Next Monday, the deadline given by the Government to the company expires, so a new meeting is expected to be convened in order to inform the competent ministers how many extrajudicials have been sent, how many of the drivers have been identified and are in the process of being sent and how many more are pending in total. Depending on the information given by the company, decisions will be made.
The Traffic Department will prepare a note to the competent ministers, which will analyze the current situation and indicate the reasons for the delay in sending an extrajudicial. It is not excluded that in the problems of delay, the main role is played by the identification process, the lack of staff from the company and other external factors. Also, the great fear of the relevant ministers is that if such delays now appear, what will happen when the system goes to the next phase, where there will be more cameras.
At the moment there are only eight cameras, four fixed and four mobile and daily report over 500 drivers.
120 cameras in three phases
As "F" wrote, the next phase is in the air, since its implementation should have already begun. The contract for the photo-labelling system was signed on 14/12/2020 between the Electromechanical Service and the American company Conduent State & Local Solutions, Inc.
The project concerns the design, installation, operation and maintenance of the photo-labelling system on a nationwide basis and includes ninety (90) fixed cameras in thirty (30) locations and twenty (20) mobile cameras. The project will be implemented in three phases, as follows:
• The pilot phase, which was completed six months after the signing of the contract and included the operation of four mobile cameras and the installation and operation of four fixed cameras in one location. In addition, the centre for the collection and processing of violations will be installed and will operate, where alerts/calls will begin to be issued and sent to the offenders. This phase will be piloted for 3 months. Already, the pilot phase has ended without going to the next phase.
• The first phase that will be completed within 6 months from the completion of the pilot phase, i.e. within 15 months from the signing of the contracts, will include the operation of another 16 mobile cameras and the installation and operation of another twenty-20 fixed cameras in six more locations.
• The second phase, which will be completed within one year of the completion of the first phase, includes the installation of an additional 66 fixed cameras in another 23 locations. The infringement collection and processing centre will have the full operational capacity required to provide the required services satisfactorily.
The amount of the Contract is estimated at €34,076,970.00. Of this figure, €8 million approximately concerns the supply and installation of equipment, while the remaining approximately €26 million concerns the maintenance and operation of the equipment, including the delivery of fines by the contractor.
Plenty of complaints about the €300 turn
There are more and more complaints from citizens who have been denounced by the fixed cameras, who are protesting because they are being accused of violating red in their attempt to turn right.
A series of complaints have been submitted to the Police and the managing company, as well as to the Attorney General and all have the same basis: They were reported by a fixed camera located at the junction of Grivas Digenis and Demosthenes Severis Avenues in Nicosia, in their attempt to turn right. Specifically, all complaints concern the filter that allows turning right when you come from the Presidential with the intention of moving towards the Gavriilidis lights. As reported by citizens who took an extrajudicial to pay €300 and impose three penalty points on them, while the filter is green, until they move and pass, this becomes red and as a result they are denounced. They stress that there is no reverse timing as is done at other crossings so that drivers know when to prepare to stop, so they are reported.
They also complain that the guilty photos concerning them do not clearly show the offense and ask for a video that clearly shows when the green stopped being lit. The Traffic Police replied that they can challenge the fine in Court.
We put these complaints to the assistant head of the Traffic Police Harry Evripidou, who told us that from the beginning of the installation of the system they had seen the problem with the indicator that allows the turn right at an intersection and in order to avoid misunderstandings and disputes, 3 seconds more time were given, from the time the relevant signal was erased, so that the driver has room to pass. As he explained, with those three seconds, up to three vehicles could pass from the moment the green arc goes out and then starts denouncing the system. Mr. Evripidou also mentioned that when a driver presses the white line, while the traffic light is red but does not pass the entire vehicle, then he is gratuitously accused of violating the white line and is asked to pay a €25 fine, instead of €300 that would be with the violation of the red.
Regarding the complaint because there is no possibility for someone who is reported to see the video of the violation instead of photos, the officer responsible at the Traffic Police said that the company owns a video, but due to the law can not make it available to the offender. If the House changes the law, then that will make it easier for everyone, he added. Now the video is used by the company's technicians to see when an infringement occurred and if there were reasons (works were being done, or was being regulated by a traffic policeman) then the complaint should not be forwarded.
Regarding the installation of a timer, Mr. Evripidou noted that he is in favour, but its installation is a matter for Public Works.
