Cyprus adopts new road safety plan for 2021-2030

The Road Safety Council on Wednesday adopted a new strategic plan for 2021-2030 that aims to cut road deaths by half, with the plan to introduce harsher penalties and traffic cameras.

Chairing the meeting, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said the goal is to achieve a reduction in the number of deaths from road collisions by at least 50% by 2030, as well as a 50% reduction in serious injuries.

The strategic plan for the next decade will focus on five main pillars: effective road safety management, safe roads and mobility, safe vehicles, safe road users and effective post-collision response.

The Transport Minister said the evaluation of tenders for traffic cameras will be completed by the end of September, with their installation scheduled to begin in the first two months of 2021.

Karousos said statistics show that every road death costs the state around 3 million euros. Last year, he said, 52 people lost their lives from road accidents and the cost for the economy was over 150 million euros.

On her part, Minister of Justice Emily Yiolitis said the updated road safety strategic plan includes a number of actions which aim to reduce traffic accidents. To that effect she referred to the inclusion of recommendations by police experts on road safety matters, noting that the plan's implementation is expected to greatly improve road safety. She also spoke of the need of coordination between relevant agencies in order for the plan to be implemented.

The police, Yiolitis noted, has a role in implementing a great number of actions and spoke of the need for planning and prioritising actions.

The Ministry has already asked police to double narco-tests, she said, adding that at the same time a letter has already been sent to the Union of Municipalities and the Ministry has taken the initiative of coordinating police and municipalities to achieve a better cooperation of traffic officers.