Filenews 19 January 2023
The Police will move on five axes this year in order to prevent new deaths from road collisions. The 18% reduction in deaths last year creates a burden of responsibility to save more lives on the roads until we reach zero dead.
The traffic problem as it occurred last year with the 37 victims, the fewest since the establishment of the Republic, was raised yesterday in a meeting convened by the Chief of Police Stelios Papatheodorou in the presence of the leadership of the Force, the traffic police officers at the Headquarters, the police directors and the heads of the provincial traffic branches. After analysing the fatal road collisions of 2022, it was decided to study new measures especially in vulnerable parts of roads where accidents occur frequently.
In addition to the reduction in fatalities on the roads, which is one of the largest in the European Union, there was, as police spokesman Christos Andreou told "F", a 7% reduction in road collisions with serious injuries. The analysis of the accidents in which we had fatalities revealed five areas on which particular emphasis will be placed this year by the Police. Enumerating these areas, Mr Andreou said:
- Use of a seat belt. Unfortunately, it was found that of the 14 dead drivers and occupants of vehicles we had last year, nine or 64% did not wear a seat belt.
- Use of a protective helmet. Of the 12 motorcycle drivers and passengers, seven, or 58.7% did not wear a helmet. In fact, six of them were aged 25 or under. Four of them were cyclists and a scooter driver.
- Use of alcohol and drugs. This issue is of great concern to the Traffic Police, since more and more drivers are at the wheel and have used substances. The data shows that eight of the 37 total deaths had used alcohol or drugs. Specifically, the two had used alcohol and the other six alcohol and drugs together, a highly dangerous cocktail that leads to death.
- Eighteen of the 37 road deaths last year (48.6%) were foreigners. The 15 were permanent residents of Cyprus and the three tourists. The Traffic Police will intensify information campaigns for foreigners on how to drive in Cyprus and will give training lectures where they operate, in order to save lives.
- Illegal right turn. Eight of our fellow human beings perished last year because they simply attempted to turn right, either legally or carelessly. On one occasion a driver lost his life when he attempted a U-turn.
The Chief of Police's instructions were clear as to the targets for this year and it was requested to step up efforts in black spots or vulnerable road users so that no more lives are lost. Those in charge of the Limassol district, where last year had the sad lead with 13 dead, were also asked to prepare targeted campaigns to prevent fatal road collisions. Another measure that can contribute to this is cameras, especially mobile ones, so that they can be placed on roads where accidents occur frequently.
