The Council also considers unconstitutional the proposal for a law by MP Chrysanthos Savvides, which provides for the increase, from 12 to 20, of the penalty points on the basis of which the Court has the power to order, inter alia, the deprivation of the right to hold or obtain a person's driving license.

The Council considers that this imposes on the Court the type and degree of penalty, which is unconstitutional. According to the Road Safety Council, the penalty points and generally the penalties imposed on traffic offenders since October 1, 2020, when the increased penalties for traffic offenses came into force, had positive effects, since by the end of 2023 a significant decrease in road deaths had been recorded. Specifically, compared to the respective road deaths recorded in 2019 (52) and 2020 (48), in 2023 (34) there was a decrease of 35% and 30% respectively.

A recent police survey shows that offenders whose penalty points are 9 (and therefore risk deprivation of their driving license with yet another offence) constitute 1% of all drivers nationwide, corresponding to approximately 6,000 offenders, a number that does not justify the adoption of MP Chrysanthos Savvides' proposal.

It is noted that in November 2023 the legislation has been amended so that the deletion of penalty points takes place after two instead of three years. Any additional relaxation that reduces the deterrent effect of the penalty could be a setback in efforts to further comply with the aim of reducing serious road traffic collisions resulting in fatalities and serious injuries, the Road Safety Council said.

The Council agrees only with two bills by DISY MPs Fotini Tsiridou and Onoufrios Koullas, which provide for an increase, from 30 days from the date of issue of the notice to 60 days from the date of service of the notice, of the deadline for the payment of an extrajudicial fine and acceptance of penalty points, as well as an extension of the period for prosecution against a person who has not paid an extrajudicial fine from 45 to 60 days. However, it disagrees with granting a deduction in case of payment of the fine within 30 days, increasing the amount of the fine in case of non-payment within the set deadline and laying down a procedure for serving the notice on the actual offender.

According to a response to the proposal for a law by two DISY MPs for the suspension of penalty points at traffic lights from January 1, 2023 until May 31, 2024, the Minister of Transport states that during this period, according to data from the Traffic Police, 278,586 extrajudicial documents have been issued, of which 203,791 (approximately 73%) had been paid and charged with penalty points.

It is his position that this is not feasible since the retroactive deletion of penalty points creates legal and procedural problems, complexities and difficulties, while issues of unequal treatment of offenders may also arise. Also, according to the position of the Legal Service before the Commission, the suspension of the imposition of sentences is unconstitutional as it is an interference of the legislative power in the judicial and executive branches (separation of powers).