Filenews 9 July 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivassilis
The Ministers of Transport and Communications will ask the Minister of Education to increase the hours of road safety classes in schools, in an effort to cultivate the road culture among students and even to evaluate them.
The decision was taken yesterday at the meeting of the Road Safety Council, which was chaired by the Minister of Transport Giannis Karousos. The Council discussed the road problem in the shadow of the large increase this year in fatal accidents, which have reached 25. The assistant director of the Traffic Department, Haris Evripidou, analyzed the data this year where more than 50% of the victims are foreigners and that 1/3 of the dead are motorcyclists, of which 70% did not wear a helmet. Also, a large percentage of drivers who lost their lives this year did not use a seatbelt. The Traffic Police has recently been reinforced by a decision of the Chief of Police by the "Z" team of motorcyclists to assist in the efforts to reduce fatal collisions, while on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, Committees from all involved departments will be appointed to monitor the implementation of the actions provided for in the strategic plan for road safety which provides for a reduction in fatalities by 50% by 2030.
The transport minister referred to the bills pending in Parliament and it is expected that some will be voted on next Thursday, such as the one regulating the movement of electric scooters and bicycles. He also said that the subsidy for child seats will soon be announced to implement the law on the transport of children by bus and on helmets for cyclists. The law is expected to be passed next Thursday and will provide for the mandatory use of a special helmet for bicycle drivers, with provision for a fine for those who do not carry it.
The bills concerning the changes for student driving licenses, for the protective equipment for delivery men are also pending, while Mr. Karousos also referred to the immediate operation of an application where drivers and citizens in general will be able to declare problematic points on the roads. The Department of Public Works will undertake their immediate repair.
Mr. Karousos referred to the contacts he had with the Radio and Television Authority in order to promote films on road safety through televisions, since as he said, the decisions taken and the messages about road safety should reach everyone.
The Ministry of Transport has prepared and sent to the Legal Service a bill concerning the regulation of driving schools, something with which their owners disagree. The bill defines three categories of driving schools and will provide for lifelong training of instructors.
The Council also dealt with the issue of traffic police cameras and the problems that arose, while as mentioned soon the Reception Committee will announce its decisions.
