Filenews 19 December 2024 - by Michalis Hadjivassilis
The Road Safety Council has just decided to increase the number of extrajudicial proceedings for serious offences on the roads that cost human lives.
Extrajudicial charges for three offences proven to lead to deaths on the roads due to driver illegality will be increased by €50.
A relevant proposal was presented today to the Council by the Minister of Justice Marios Hartsiotis following a proposal by the Police and was unanimously approved. According to the suggestions made, the out-of-court cases affected are:
Helmet: From €200 today it will go to €250 and in case of repetition of the same offence within three years, from €250 it will go to €500.
Mobile: From €150 it will increase to €200 and in case of repetition of the illegality in three years it will double and from €300 it will go to €400.
Zone: From €150 the extrajudicial fee will increase to €200 and if the offence is repeated in the next three years, from €300 it will increase to €400.
The increases include the non-use of license plates by motorcyclists, where the out-of-court fee from €80 today will go to €100 for the first time and if repeated will increase to €200.
At the meeting of the Road Safety Council, data were presented on behalf of the Traffic Police, according to which this year the number of passengers of vehicles that died without wearing a seat belt doubled compared to last year. Also, mobile phone use while driving is currently the leading cause of death on the roads (careless driving).
As Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis told Filenews, out-of-court cases related to cameras and those concerning drivers' carelessness are not being tightened, but those concerning deliberate illegalities of drivers that also cost lives. As a society, he said, we must balance the magnitude of the offense with the level of penalties so that they are dissuasive.
