Filenews 7 June 2023
Traffic police cameras received 129,600 driver complaints, while six more cameras were put into operation yesterday at two fixed points in Nicosia.
Cameras are increasing, and out-of-court cases are increasing, which is why the Traffic Police recommends drivers to be careful and comply with the rules so that lives are saved and there are no complaints. Cameras are a tool to reduce road accidents and not to collect money, a senior traffic police officer told "F" yesterday, adding that already this year there has been a decrease of three fatalities.
According to data provided to "F" by the assistant head of the Traffic Department at the Police Headquarters, Haris Evripidou, from 1/1/2022 until today we have a total of 129,900 complaints from all cameras, fixed and mobile. 106,000 complaints concerning speed, 17,000 complaints for violation of the white continuous line at traffic lights and 6,900 complaints for violation of red lights.
As Mr. Evripidou said, as of June 1, all 20 mobile cameras provided for in the contract have been received and put into operation, so the managing company should use them on the basis of the program sent by the Traffic Police. The two new fixed points where cameras have been operating normally since yesterday are on Makarios Avenue despite the Lycabettus traffic lights and at the junction of Strovolos Avenue with Machaira Street.
As "F" pointed out, at the intersection of Archbishop Makarios Avenue with Digenis Akritas Avenue there is a peculiarity since there are bus lanes. Drivers, whether they are bus, taxi or private vehicle drivers, will have to comply with the running lights that are for their lane, with Mr. Evripidou explaining that the indicators will turn on depending on the lane. At this stage, however, if a private vehicle is recorded using a bus lane, it will not be reported for this violation as it is not allowed by existing legislation. This issue may be regulated by legislation promoted by Nicosia Municipality.
Meanwhile, the operation of cameras in Limassol scheduled for yesterday has been postponed to June 19-20 as experts from Germany are expected for repairs due to the damage recently done by fans.
Regarding drivers' complaints that camera vans are hidden behind bushes or that they are parked in places where warning signs are not allowed and placed in visible places and at a proper distance, Mr. Evripidou stressed that there is misinformation, saying that the photos are edited.
He also mentions that in some cases, mobile cameras are mounted on tripods outside the vehicle, because it is judged that it needs to be installed in a specific place where there is no possibility to park the van, so it does not matter whether or not the car is visible, as he says. He also asked that where citizens point out something, they contact the authorities and report it so that it can be investigated.
