Filenews 19 August 2023
The Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services recently gave the green light to the management company of the photo-labelling system to proceed with the second and last phase of installation of fixed cameras.
After the delivery of the six points where fixed cameras were installed (four in Nicosia and two in Limassol) and after it became clear that everything was running smoothly, Electromechanical Engineering, which is also the contracting authority, approved the next phase. According to the contract, the second phase should be completed within one year of the completion of the first phase, i.e. in July 2024. It includes the installation of an additional 66 fixed cameras (90 in total) in another 23 locations.
Until then, the infringement collection and processing centre will have the full operational capacity required to provide the required services satisfactorily. Currently, there are also 20 mobile cameras, which are installed on motorways, on the secondary road network, but also within cities, depending on where more people move and in places where road traffic collisions occur or are likely to occur.
According to F's information, the 23 fixed points where cameras would initially be placed will not remain the same mainly due to road network designs that affect them. For example, on the Astromeritis – Morphou road where it was planned to instal cameras at three fixed points up to Evrychou, but with the plans to create a two-lane motorway in each direction, eventually there will be no permanent cameras. The road, both now and after its reconstruction, will be monitored with mobile cameras.
There will also be a change for the lights Good afternoon, at the entrance of Nicosia. There are plans to remove the lights and a traffic junction will be created nearby. As a result of these changes, another fixed point has been identified in Nicosia for the installation and operation of cameras. However, the new locations where cameras will be installed have not yet been approved, which will be done soon so that the company can begin building infrastructure.
At the same time, the change of legislation is being promoted, which mainly concerns the system of delivery of the notice for an out-of-court case from the cameras. At the moment, many who receive a notification from the Post Office realize that it is an out-of-court document from the cameras and avoid receiving it, resulting in a delay in their delivery. Thus, the Police, through the Ministry of Justice, is promoting the amendment of the legislation to allow notification to be sent by text message to the mobile phone, in order to facilitate the process of sending fines.
Also, a change is being promoted regarding company drivers, so that the name is sent electronically and not by letters as is done today, where it is a time-consuming process.
What is encouraging is that this year there is a significant reduction in fatal road collisions and in combination with last year's decrease of 18%, shows that the measure with cameras is working, since excessive speeds on the roads have been reduced with drivers becoming more consistent at the wheel.
