FEBRUARY IS A BLACK MONTH FOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS - THREE OF THE SEVEN VICTIMS THIS YEAR WERE MOTORCYCLISTS - Filenews 25/2 by Michalis Chatzivasilis
The month we are going through in relation to road deaths is proving to be black, since five dead are recorded plus another who was injured in January and later succumbed to his injuries.
While last year and in 2024 there were two deaths per year, this year they reached five, which is worrying since February is not considered a month with increased fatal traffic accidents. As can be seen from the data, the winter months, due to reduced traffic in the evenings, record fewer deaths than during the summer months, where motorcycles and vehicles are widely used until the morning hours.
From the beginning of the year until today, seven deaths have been recorded in road collisions. Two fatal accidents occurred in January and five in February. Motorcyclists continue to pay a heavy price on the asphalt this year as well as last year, since three of the seven dead were motorcycle drivers. Another victim was an electric scooter driver.
What emerges from the data available to the Traffic Police, most accidents are unusual, they are not due to factors that are taken into account in every traffic accident, such as speed, alcohol or careless driving. This is because we recently had the fatal one with the victim 70-year-old worker who was dragged on the highway near the Monastery, by a driver who had obviously not noticed him, or the fatal one in a rural area in Pentalia, Paphos, where a vehicle fell off a cliff, resulting in the death of a 31-year-old man.
Also, the fatal incident on February 18 with a 19-year-old victim took place under circumstances that are still being investigated, which normally should not have happened. The vehicle in which the 19-year-old was a passenger had a tyre of a smaller calibre, since it had been replaced and this in itself limits the speed that the vehicle can develop.
The Traffic Police, in collaboration with the Department of Public Works, is studying the fatal accidents and the issue is expected to be addressed at the next meeting of the Road Safety Council. The same session will also deal with the issue of e-scooters, since there is a noise with their movement on the roads, while at the same time, four law proposals are pending for discussion in the Transport Committee of the Parliament on the same issue. MPs want electric scooters to be registered and insured, while the main problem, which is the places where they are moved, is not solved. A study is being prepared on the issue with suggestions from the Department of Public Works. Among other things, according to information from "F", a proposal will be made to increase the age of people who will be entitled to use these devices from the current 14 years to 16, while a proposal will also be made for insurance coverage.
For its part, the Traffic Police requests that personal mobility vehicles, as electric scooters are called, leave the roads with a limit of 50km or more and be allowed to move on wide sidewalks with special signage. Suggestions on the issue have also been submitted by the Municipality of Nicosia, which requests that these devices bear some kind of insignia so that in case of illegality of their users, they can be identified and reported.
