Filenews 5 May 2022
The identification of drivers of cars or other road rental means so that in case of traffic violations they can be served with a fine or the corresponding penalty, aims at a bill that will be brought to Parliament by the Department of Road Transport.
The bill will be prepared in consultation with the Rental Offices and will solve a big problem with the existence of two categories of drivers, those who are detected when they commit violations and those that are not detected. The issue was discussed at a meeting of the House Transportation Committee on Thursday.
In statements after the Committee, its President, MP of DIPA Marinos Mousiouttas said that on the issue of rental cars it was agreed that the Department of Road Transport would consult with the Rent Offices so that there are no two-class offenders, namely some who will pay and some who will not pay.
The consultations, he said, have progressed and very soon the Department will bring a new bill that will regulate this issue.
As he said, in response to a question, a platform is being prepared that the Car Rental Offices can use so that drivers can be identified in order to be fined for the offences they will commit. Mr. Mousiouttas added that although they have not gone into detail about how to pay the fines, they were pleased to find out today that the two sides have agreed on a formula for solving the problem and what remains is for it to come to Parliament as a bill.
Mr. Mousiouttas went on to say that the Committee also discussed the issue of changing the Law on Photo-labelling with regard to driving schools and trainees while they are taking a driving lesson.
The issue of child seats on buses was also discussed in the Commission. It was a bill that had passed since the previous Session and the result of this proposal was that kindergartens cannot use buses for excursions for young children. As he said, they called today all those responsible to examine whether there is a way to overcome safety issues so that children are not denied the right to the excursion.
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvides said on the issue of photo-labelling, that within 4 months of its implementation, around 65,000 were made. Of these, he said, 16,000 have been sent to the offenders to date, so it has been processed from 4 months only one and if one considers that the average is €30-35 per fine, the state collects around €5 million per month.
Mr. Savvidis said that operational problems include the delay in processing, the refusal of many to receive the fine from the post office in order to exhaust the 180 days, as well as the problem that arises if a vehicle is driven by several people.
In relation to the issue of rental cars, Mr. Savvidis said that the biggest oddity heard today is that there will be a platform to enable the state to collect fines online while for Cypriot citizens the process is done by mail.
He also said that on the issue of driver trainers, he has asked for an exception to violations with the system of photo-labelling as they risk being left without a job if their students make violations and because of this they will receive penalty points.
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