More than five accidents this year have to do with distraction, while according to data from the Police regarding the report on the asphalt, 31.066 complaints in a three-year period concerned mobile phone use (2023-2025).
This was mentioned during today's presentation, at the Traffic Education Park, in Nicosia, of the new awareness campaign on the use of a mobile phone while driving entitled "How many scrolls is a life worth? None. Take the wheel", an initiative of Anytime, which belongs to the Interamerican group, in collaboration with the Traffic Department of the Cyprus Police Headquarters – Office of Prevention and Enlightenment.
At the beginning of the press conference, which was attended by new MPs, among others, a video was presented with messages prepared by Anytime's ambassador for safe driving, Andreas Arvis. At the same time, figures were given regarding the toll on asphalt in the year 2025. Indicatively, according to Police data, out of the 45 dead on the asphalt, 11 deaths were related to careless driving/distraction, 9 were pedestrians, 8 were young people up to 25 years old, 3 were cyclists, while 31.066 complaints were made about mobile phone use (2023-2025).
The campaign includes an outdoor awareness campaign on the road network, radio spots, a social media campaign with the participation of Andreas Aravis and Katerina Agapitou, awareness discussions in the media in the presence of the Police. In addition, Anytime in collaboration with the Police will carry out information activities in camps, universities and major events, such as the Larnaca Marathon.
The Police Director of the Traffic Police Headquarters, Haris Evripidou, speaking during the presentation, said that the use of the mobile phone and distraction have been among the first causes of traffic collisions in recent years.
Note that research has been conducted abroad and it has been shown that the use of the mobile phone is even more dangerous than the use of alcohol, because it keeps your attention away from driving for many seconds.
"So, it has also been shown by research. They are also shown by our data. So far, it is also the first cause for 2026 as well. More than 5 accidents that have been caused this year have to do with distraction. And last year it was the first cause, with over 17 cases related to distraction. Therefore, this cooperation is welcome and we must demonstrate how dangerous the use of the mobile phone is in any way whether we are talking or scrolling. We should put it aside," he underlined.
"Especially, in Cyprus the routes we travel are very short and the time it takes to be in the car. So, I don't think someone has such a serious job to do that they don't wait 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes until they go to their destination and put it aside," he added.
Scrolling on a mobile phone does not go with driving, he said, noting the risks of a collision while someone is driving while looking at their mobile phone.
At the same time, he thanked Anytime for this initiative, noting, finally, that "it is very important not to be alone in this part of road safety, prevention".
The head of Interamerican Cyprus, Kaiti Alexandrou, said that behind every car accident or accident there is a human life, there is a family, there is a person whose life can change in a few seconds.
"So as Anytime, a leading company, which is active in the Car Insurance Industry, it is our moral obligation to contribute in any way we can and certainly through our social corporate responsibility, making the pillar of road insurance a key pillar that we want to inform and be able to inform the public in any way we can," she added.
She noted that using a mobile phone while driving is not just a bad habit.
"It is a choice that can be prevented. In this way, we as Anytime want to contribute with our new campaign, which as we said its title is "How many scrolls is a life worth? None. Grab the steering wheel", so that we can manage in our own way and with the contribution of the Police to inform both the public and each of us in order to be able to reduce accidents, but above all to decide that while we are in the car and we will take the wheel, the mobile phone must be left aside", she added.
