Filenews 21 December 2024
They stun with the data from the extrajudicial cameras in the three years of operation of the system. As of December 15, 615,776 out-of-court cases had been issued. However, the problem is not in the serial violations by drivers alone, but also in the fact that for almost half of them the driver has not been identified to be served with the extrajudicial notice.
The photo-labelling system operated for the first time on 1/1/2022 and in a few days three years of implementation will be completed with over 100 cameras operating nationwide, mobile and fixed. In the first two years of implementation of the system, there was an unprecedented decrease in deaths on the roads, while this year there is a significant increase attributed to the relaxation of drivers due to the continuous questioning of extrajudicial procedures with changes by Parliament.
According to the latest data, for this year until December 15, there are 257,906 registered extrajudicial documents. Of these, 143,447 have not been served. 96,968 were paid out of court while 17,491 remain unpaid.
For the first two years of operation of the cameras, 357,870 violations have been recorded and 279,751 have been issued out of court. Of these, 233,572 have been paid, while another 42,179 remain unpaid, meaning they will be brought to justice. If we add to this year's cases, then the total number of registered extrajudicial cases reaches 613,776, while there is a significant number that has not been clarified. It is estimated that more than 250,000 extrajudicial cases remain orphans, since offenders either received a notice and ignored it, did not receive them or were not located.
The problem with undeliverables out of court is growing and if no action is taken in the end there will be a complaint of '22 and it will be pending for over three years. The Traffic Police is proceeding with the preparation of the photoradar list, but the procedures are slow and its implementation at airports, ports and barricades is postponed until early 2025. This list will check those entering and leaving the Republic or in the occupied areas and if it is found that an extrajudicial action is pending against them, then they will be served on the spot.
At the same time, the Traffic Police, as an intermediate solution to serve the out-of-court immediately, promotes the electronic investigation by the driver himself to determine if an out-of-court case is pending against him. As explained to "F" competently, the citizen, after entering his data in the system of the contractor company, will be able to check whether he has been terminated and whether a fine is pending against him. As we are informed, this process will not be so "innocent" since by connecting to the system the authorities will know the details of the user who searched on the page if a fine was issued against him, which he will be asked to pay immediately, as he will not be able to claim that he was not informed. If he visits the association and does not pay his fine, then he will be brought before a Court. An opinion was sought on this matter from the Legal Service, which recently greenlit the implementation of this measure.
At the same time, the eTOLL system has been implemented since yesterday, where the owner of a vehicle reported by the cameras will be able to electronically declare who was driving it so that the extrajudicial document can be issued to him. Until now, this has been done through letters, resulting in problems and delays, especially as far as companies are concerned.
A remarkable thing that emerges from the three years that cameras entered our lives is that from the 800 complaints that each camera wrote fixed quarterly, in the first period, these have now decreased to 200. This means that the drivers started complying, and that was what the installation of the system was all about. However, this year there has been an increase in violations recorded by mobile cameras.
It is noted that of the 257,906 complaints made in 2024, 166,809 concern violation of the speed limit, 58,551 violation of the red light and 32,545 for violating the white line at traffic lights. Also significantly, complaints of violating the right-hand arc have decreased, especially after drivers were told how to cross light-controlled intersections and the increase in the time the green filter lights up.
Over €10 million in fines
The proceeds from fines issued following complaints through the photo-tagging system for the period 1/1/2022 to 2024 inclusive exceeded €10 million.
According to data recently provided to the Parliament, the receipts from the payment of extrajudicial fees from the cameras for the period 1/1/2022-14/3/2024 amounted to €9,329,369. If the remaining months of the year are taken into account, then the amounts paid will exceed €10 million.
