Filenews 13 May 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
The golden mean was found for those who will rent a vehicle and will be reported by the cameras of the Traffic Police. In order not to be able to escape, whether Cypriots or tourists, they must first declare full details and have a code.
The issue had arisen two months ago, when the Parliament was debating a bill of the Ministry of Transport, which obliged vehicle rental companies to withhold an amount from the credit card of those who rent a vehicle. The owners of "Z" reacted strongly to this arrangement, with the transport minister working out various solutions so that the extrajudicial fines do not go unpunished or unpaid when they are reported by the cameras.
According to the new arrangement that was made, as the Minister of Transport, Yiannis Karousos, told "F", a platform will be created on the internet, where anyone who wishes to rent a vehicle, whether Cypriot or foreign, will fill in the special electronic form that will exist, while ensuring a code. Something similar has been done with travellers in relation to Covid-19, where in order to go to a country they would have to fill in a special form with their details, so that in case they are searched they will be located.
With the form, the applicant, as explained by Mr. Karousos, should, in addition to his/her name, fill in his/her full address, either in Cyprus or abroad, his/her identity card or passport and his/her telephone number. So when he is denounced by the photo-labelling system, then he should be sent the notice by post to his country (if it is a tourist) and asked to pay the fine. In case someone does not pay then when he attempts to come back to Cyprus his data will be registered in a special database and will be located upon his arrival.
In the meantime, with the full operation of the camera system, special categories of files will be created so that if someone is not detected, then their name will be in one of them and is identical. In particular, the special categories will include Turkish Cypriots and those who refuse to receive their extrajudicial documents or are hiding and are not located. In the event that they travel, or go to the occupied territories, or turn to a police office, then their details will be identified and they will be asked to pay for their extrajudicial, otherwise a court will be sent.
