Filenews 3 January 2026 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
The Police are asking for the power to revoke and, in fact, on the spot the driver's license from drivers who commit serious illegalities and discussions are already underway with the Ministry of Communications to change the legislation.
The Police, and especially the Traffic Police, wants a driver, when he is found under the influence of alcohol or drugs, substances that are very dangerous when combined with driving, to have the right to withdraw the driver's license of a delinquent on the spot. This development also arose due to the fact that more and more drivers are found driving either drunk or after using drugs or even worse with both of these substances at the same time, as a result of which they are considered as moving "bombs".
As the legislation is today, if a driver is found on the road positive for alcohol or drugs, he is arrested and released the next day and is entitled to continue driving normally until his trial. Also, the summons to the Court can be served months later or never, since the offender is often not easily detected. That is why the Traffic Police is seeking to change the legislation so that it can serve a letter-notification to a driver on the spot that his driving license is suspended for a limited period of time, while the criminal prosecution process will also be initiated. In this way, there will be a direct impact on a driver who drives under unacceptable conditions and on the other hand the Traffic Police will be spared bureaucratic procedures that are often endless.
It is noted that in 2025, according to data from the Traffic Police, we had 11 dead people who were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both together. The Traffic Police in 2025 had made 3,226 complaints from drivers for exceeding the alcohol limit and 869 complaints about drivers positive for drug tests, quite large numbers for our country.
In the meantime, with four more deaths compared to 2024, 2025 is gone. The upward trend that began after the unprecedented decrease in road fatalities recorded in 2023 with 34 fatalities in 32 road collisions, continued in the last year. Specifically, in '25, 45 people were killed in an equal number of road traffic collisions compared to 41 in 2024. Motorcyclists are paying a heavy death toll, since out of the 45 dead, 16 were motorcycle drivers or passengers, one dead was a moped driver, another three dead were cyclists, while we also had nine pedestrians who were victims of traffic accidents. In 2025 we had 13 dead car drivers and three dead car passengers. Also, 16 of the 45 dead were young people up to 25 years old.
As for the causes, the first remains careless and negligent driving which is mainly due to the mobile phone. In total, in 2025 we had 11 fatalities due to careless driving/distraction, 11 fatalities under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and six fatalities due to non-observance of the left side of the road. We also had several serious road collisions and two deaths due to speeding. Of the 45 victims in traffic accidents, 28 were Greek Cypriots and 17 were foreigners, 11 of whom came from third countries and six from European countries.
According to statistics, the most critical day for a serious or fatal car accident to occur is Saturday and is followed by Friday, days when people move on the streets in order to have fun or visit a loved one or a friend. Ten of the 45 dead in '25 were killed between the hours of 8 p.m., until midnight.
